


Attacked.

by misswritingobsessed



Category: FBI (TV 2018)
Genre: Case Fic, F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2020-10-04 18:01:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20475245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misswritingobsessed/pseuds/misswritingobsessed
Summary: When Dana is attacked, the team are determined to find who did it before the try again. As the case moves forward it becomes more personal, with the body count getting higher and secrets coming to light, personal lives become tangled with professional ones.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I say I am nervous about posting a lot of the time, but this is a whole new level. I really wanted to push myself with a multiple chapter story, so here it is. (Thank you to everyone in the comments who inspired me!) 
> 
> I wanted to get this up a while ago, mainly because of season two and because of cast changes, but I hope it's still enjoyable despite that. Another thing I really wanted to do was push myself as a writer and try to make longer and more in depth chapters, so I hope I have at least done well with one of those things.
> 
> Any and all mistakes are my own, I am sorry. I seriously do hope this isn't the worst thing I have ever written! 
> 
> (Any flashbacks in this story will be in italics.)

“You ruined her life, you know that?”

Dana didn’t know who it was, and her brain didn’t have time to make sense of what the words meant before she was surrounded by darkness, broken up by flashes of colour. She had been shot, hit, and attacked enough times to know that the sharp intakes of breath she could hear belonged to onlookers who, she assumed, had seen an altercation, then seen her body hit the ground.

She lost all sense of time and spatial awareness, but she had been a profiler and studied psychology long enough to know what would happen next.

It took seconds for people to realise what was happening, close to a minute before they reacted, before they called for help, or stepped in to help themselves. She knew the latter would be unlikely, she couldn’t see her attacker, but if bystanders could, then they wouldn’t move.

Despite not knowing how long she’d be laid on what she presumed was the sidewalk, she knew that for most people flight or fight would have kicked in – she knew from experience, flight would win almost every single time.

She began to hear people talking around her, and she so desperately wanted to know what was being said, but the pain in her head was too much. The light was too bright for her to open her eyes, and her jaw feel weirdly disconnected, her back was cold, and she had a tingling sensation in her legs and her arms. It was February in New York, winter still had a strong hold on the city, and Dana’s lack of movement was starting to have an effect.

A mixture of ‘what happened’ and ‘you’re going to be okay’ followed by ‘stay with me,’ was being said, but it wasn’t anything she could reply to. 

She wanted to answer them, ask what happen, what was happening, why she felt so strange. Her brain was leading her in all different directions, and she was trying as hard as she could to make it stop. Her training told her she needed to calm down, she needed to relax and let whoever was helping her, help her, but she felt like she was losing that internal battle. 

She felt someone take her hand, and again willed herself to calm down, to focus on one thing, to try and ignore the pain, to remember as much as she could – if she pulled through that would be the first thing the cops asked. She wanted to give them answers, she wanted to help catch whoever it was that did this to her, to make sure they didn’t do it to anyone else.

Of course, for that, she needed to calm down, let her body welcome the help it was receiving.

It was faint, but she was sure she could hear someone telling her that it was going to be okay, and despite not knowing who it was, were it was coming from or how much truth was behind it - she had to believe it.

For the first time since her body made contact with the street, she let herself think of the worst case scenario. She was alive right now, but that could all change, she didn’t want it to, but she knew things were no longer in her control.

She had been attacked, someone had taken issue with her being alive and set out to change it. Dana wanted to believe that it would all be okay, that she would wake up, heal, go back to work, find her attacker in the process, but instead, the darkness she saw before was slowly being replaced by flashes of images of those she loved.

Of her daughter. Of the daughter, who by the end of the day could have a dead mother.

\---------

Jubal tried not to panic when he got the call, he was stood taking to Maggie, Kristen and OA, when his phone rang, and as he listened to the words being said on the other end, he hoped he was keeping his face neutral.

He knew he had failed at that, just by the way Maggie, OA and Kristen immediately rose from their desks when he asked the officer on the other end to repeat what he’d said and couldn’t hide the fear written on his face. 

Dana had been attacked. The special agent in charge, a trained FBI agent had been attacked on the streets of the city she protected on a daily basis.

The four of them were out the office before anyone could ask them what was happening. 

The words shouldn’t have been said, whatever had happened, shouldn’t have, but this was happening, and all Jubal could do was put his foot down, navigate the busy New York streets, and hope for the best - and in his line of work, he’d come to realise that ‘the best’ simply meant still breathing. 

The scene was like any other he had been too, but it was personal this time, and everyone could tell. He watched from a distance as the medics worked on Dana, for a moment not wanting to go over and see. He didn’t want to see her like that – not if it would be the last time.

“She’s alive,” An officer confirmed.

Jubal looked at the young man and nodded a little. He didn’t look old enough to be a cop, but Jubal didn’t want to question him, asking for a superior would only cause a scene. Right now, too many people had cells phone, and he couldn’t trust himself to keep it professional, because although he was the ASAC, everything about this was personal.

“Uh, she’s,” He couldn’t find the words to speak, so he was happy when OA stepped in for him.

“She’s our boss, FBI, SAC Dana Mosier, New York joint operations command.”

The officer nodded, “She had her ID on her. I spoke to my boss, he’s happy for you to take the lead – so far all we know is that a female attacker walked up to her, and within seconds was screaming. Your boss had no time to react.”

Maggie sighed a little, shaking her head. “She doesn’t carry a gun.”

“If one of you wants to ride in the ambulance with her, you can.” The officer pointed to where Dana was being treated surrounded by NYPD officers.

The three agents looked at Jubal. “Jubal, you go, we’ll work the scene from here.” Maggie told him with a small smile that felt so wrong in the moment.

“Kris, when you get back, call the director and the assistant director, fill them in. Then begin with all the CCTV footage of this area,” Jubal turned to her and spoke.

There was a slight paused before he sighed. “Elle,” He whispered the name of Dana’s only child.

“We’ll get NYPD to pick her up and bring her to the hospital,” Kristen said, a sad look on her face at the thought of the teen seeing her mother in such a bad way.

Jubal nodded, not saying anything else before heading over to the ambulance.

“Female attacker, middle of the day, FBI special agent in charge, this is either a well-planned attack or it’s personal.” OA spoke first, turning slightly to see the rest of the street.

“Yeah,” Maggie took a breath, “So, who would want to kill an FBI agent who has over thirty years’ experience?”

Kristen shrugged. “Thirty years’ experience is thirty years’ worth of enemies. I’ll start making a list when I get back to the office,”

OA turned to the local cop, “Anyone else see anything, hear anything?”

The cop nodded, “A few school kids were bunking off, they saw the woman, one of them says that she can ID her and is willing to talk to a sketch artist.”

They nodded, “Anything else?”

“It’s not clear exactly what this woman said, but it was along the lines of ‘you ruined her life.’”

“Her life?” OA asked.

“That was the one thing they’re clear on, she said ‘her’.”

“Sounds like revenge, Dana may not have even registered that this woman was speaking to her.”

The three agents nodded; it was a good start. “Hopefully, if your boss wakes up,”

Maggie interrupted him, “When our boss wakes up, I am sure she’ll be able to give us an account of what happened.”

\----------

Jubal watched with a feeling of hopelessness as one of the medics checked and rechecked Dana’s vital signs, ensuring all the wires and tubes were where they needed to be. The only comfort he got was hearing the steading beeping of the monitor that proved Dana still had a heartbeat.

“Can I hold her hand?” He wasn’t sure why he felt he hand to ask, he didn’t know why he didn’t just reach out for her, but something about Dana laid in the back of an ambulance made him feel as though everything had to be on the medic’s terms. He didn’t want to do anything that could hurt her even more.

“Of course, it might help.”

He smiled in thanks before reaching out and grasping Dana’s hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb.

“We’re going to get whoever did this, Dana, I promise,” Jubal said, feeling as if it was just the two of them.

That was rule number one, never make a promise unless you knew for a fact you could keep it, but Jubal knew he would find whoever did this. He would find whoever attacked a member of the FBI, of course he would, but this was more personal.

He didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want to say it out loud yet – despite the feeling that everyone else knew anyway.

It was personal, because he loved her. He loved her, and seeing her the way she was, with ugly bruises starting to cover her body, angry patches across her face, tubes and wires connected to her, it broke him.

“We’re about two minutes out,” The medic told him.

Jubal nodded in thanks again, using his free hand to pull his phone out of his pocket. He didn’t think the team would have sent any updates, he knew they wouldn’t have had time, but he checked out of habit, and out of hope.

The team were good at what they did, and he trusted them. He had to because right now he wanted to be with Dana, and Eleanor – because he knew that she was going to need some support.

**\----------**

There was a bright light. The kind of light that made Dana want to close her eyes even more, the kind that made you see stars and patterns against the pitch black.

She wanted to believe she was in an ambulance, she wanted to believe that someone was helping her, but her head was pounding so much that it hurt to think. It hurt to try and piece together what had happened. It hurt different than anything else she’d felt before – anything she’d experienced.

This pain felt both loud and quiet at the same time.

She willed herself to open her eyes, but the light was too bright, it was too harsh, it hurt too much.

_Dana Mosier squinted at the bright sun, wishing she’d worn sunglasses to shield her eyes, she pushed her hair out of her face for the second time as she crouched down next to another body. The third, and latest victim, the one that hadn’t yet been buried in the pre dug grave done by her killer. _

_The other two she’d seen had been dug up partly by the dogwalker who found them, and then by the forensic team from Houston PD. _

_She cured herself for not dressing for the Texas heat, but she knew she couldn’t do anything about it now. _

_“Crossed gender lines, crossed age lines, race lines, at first glance nothing connects these victims,” She said aloud to herself. The local cop who’d escorted her to the crime scene – a clearing in the woods next to a children’s playground – had stayed back. She couldn’t blame him, the sight in front of her was gruesome. _

_“They give you a fancy title just so you can state the obvious?” A voice behind her said, although by the tone whoever it was seemed to be joking. _

_“Well,” Dana stood up, turning to face the man who’d interrupted her thought process. “I like to think I do more than that,” _

_She extended her hand. “Special Agent Dana Mosier, FBI. I was brought out here to profile the case,” _

_The man took her hand, shaking it. “Special Agent Jubal Valentine, FBI. Secondment from the New York office.”_

_Dana couldn’t help but smile. “Good to have a friend in the field, how long have you been here?” She asked stepping towards him, away from the dead body. _

_Strange as it was, it had almost become common to have introductory conversation next to corpses in her line of work. _

_“About three weeks. Hated every minute so far, so the faster we get this wrapped up, the quicker I get to go back to Manhattan,” He told her, before frowning and looking down at the bodies. “And, you know, we get a killer off the streets.” _

_Dana chucked, “You mean sweltering heat, the smell of nature mixed in with rotting corpses isn’t your thing?” She purposely thickened her accent as she spoke._

_“Let me guess, I’ve put my foot in it and you’re from around here,” _

_“I’m from the south, but not here. Spent most of my time at Quantico, and then whichever state needs me at the time.”_

_Jubal seemed to nod, happy that he had not just put his foot in it. He looked at the third victim, before looking at the other bodies that needed to be taken to the morgue. _

_“This is what a stone’s throw from a kid’s playground? Anyone could have found this.” He said, taking a step forward. _

_“He’s either comfortable here, or he wanted these victims to be found. Either way, we have a duty to find out what happened to them.” Dana took a breath, again pushing her hair out of her face. _

_“What do you say you and I team up together?” Jubal asked with a smile that Dana admittedly found charming. _

_Dana found herself agreeing, before her eyes caught something a few metres from where she was standing. She took a few steps over towards it – being careful not to disturb anything. _

_“What you said about getting back New York?” She said, looking back at her fellow agent. _

_“What about it?” Jubal asked, taking the same path Dana had to see what she was looking at. _

_Before them were two pre-dug holes in the ground. _

_“Whoever this is, hasn’t finished their little killing spree.” Dana said. _

_Jubal put a hand on her arm, before sighing, pointing to what seemed to be more piles of dirt just past another tree line, pointing towards more pre dug graves. “Not by a long shot.” _

_Dana took a moment to take in the scene around her, knowing this case was about to get even more complicated. _

_“Wanna discuss theories over terrible coffee, in a police station with no a/c?” Jubal asked from beside her, breaking her thought process once again. _

_“I thought you’d never ask. Lead the way, Agent Valentine.” _

**\----------**

Kristen stood at the front of the JOC, feeling out of place and uneasy. The team had already been updated on the situation, and Kristen knew that they all felt the same way, but all the emotion had to go somewhere, and that somewhere had to be the investigation.

“We need all the CCTV we can find of that area, street cams, dash cams, store camera’s, mobile phones if we have to.” Kristen said, looking at some of her colleagues.

Maggie and OA would be back soon, hopefully with something useful they could go on. Right now, all they had was eyewitness accounts, and many of those had been vague, sketchy, the only thing they could agree on was that it was a female, and that she had attacked another woman.

Some say she had a knife, others say she had a gun, but thankfully none of Dana’s wounds suggested that. They seemed to be done with a fist, but that was where the fear was – Dana had hit her head pretty hard on the sidewalk, and according to those in the area, the attack went on for over a minute, which was enough time to whoever did this to hit Dana repeatedly.

Whoever it was had a whole lot of rage to do this with her bare hands.

“Our officers have just said they’ve dropped Eleanor Mosier off that the hospital, they’re going to hang around make sure that she has everything she needs.” Kristen looked at Aaron, a member of the NYPD.

Kristen smiled thinking of the teen, “Thank you, we’ll get some of our guys over there as well, just so we can be sure they’re safe.”

“We have an eyewitness working with a sketch artist as we speak,” OA said as he and Maggie entered the JOC.

“Good. NYPD have just gotten Eleanor to the hospital, but I haven’t heard anything yet.” Kristen said with a sad smile and shrug. It would be hard enough to run this investigation without a SAC or an ASAC, even harder not knowing if one of them would wake up.

“The assistant director is sending someone to run point on the case, but I don’t know who yet. The press office wants a statement, but I don’t know what to tell them. We’re waiting on CCTV, but so far it looks like a blitz attack, but also a singular event.”

Maggie nodded in agreement at the last part. “I mean a high-ranking agent with the bureau is a pretty specific target.”

“We’ve got to work on a list of enemies.” OA pointed out the obvious, not that he wanted to.

“We’ve got CCTV,” someone behind them shouted before pointing up at the screens.

The three agents stood at the front of the JOC, each holding their breath as they watched the three-minute time period that showed them in black and white their boss getting attacked on a New York street.

“Woman walks up, screams something, Dana turns to react,” OA said following along with the movements on the screen.

“The woman knocks Dana down,” Maggie continued for him, pausing with a small wince. “Hits her head against the pavement, multiple times.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not totally sure about uploading this, but here is the second part. Any and all mistakes are my own, I hope this isn't awful!

Maggie and OA remained silent as they made their way through the hospital corridors. The footage of the attack only making them more eager to see their boss, to check up on her and have the doctors reassure them she would be fine.

“Do you think Jubal will let us talk to Eleanor?” OA asked, glancing over at Maggie.

Maggie shrugged in response. “I hope so, he may need to be her appropriate adult.”

There was a pause before OA spoke again. “Kristen ran a check; Dana has a sister that lives in New Jersey. She’s on her way.”

“We could, but if this is personal and Eleanor knows something, I don’t think we should wait. It’s just a conversation, just to see if anyone strange has been hanging around. Dana may not have told Eleanor, she’s only fifteen; if someone was causing problems, she probably didn’t want to worry her child.” Maggie said, as the pair reached the room the nurse had told them too.

Through the glass door, it was clear that Dana was in a bad way. Still hooked up to monitors, with wires and tubes everywhere. Maggie sighed a breath of relief – no breathing tube, which was a good sign.

“Nurse said they sedated her to run tests.” OA mentioned.

He could see Dana, but he could also see Eleanor sat in the chair at her mother’s bedside, holding her hand. Jubal was stood near the window, his eyes trained on the bed, arms folded across his chest.

Maggie was the one who knocked and pushed the door open, giving a small smile, before gently walking into the room.

“Hi, how’s she doing?” Maggie asked Jubal, who nodded a little.

“Well. No major internal injuries, but she hit her head pretty hard, there is some swelling. Doctors say she’s lucky, but right now, they think she’ll wake up in a few hours.”

Maggie and OA let out a sigh of relief. “Good, that’s good,” Maggie moved into Eleanor’s line of sight.

“Hi, Eleanor, I’m Maggie, this is OA, we work with your mum.”

Eleanor nodded, but didn’t quite smile – not that the agents could blame her. “Mum’s mentioned you a few times.”

“Eleanor, if it’s okay with you we would like to ask you some questions.” OA said, his eyes flicking between Eleanor and Jubal.

It was clear to see how protective Jubal was over the teen. Not that OA thought it was too strange, Dana and Jubal worked well together and closely, just like he and Maggie, he assumed personal details would come up in conversation.

“Her aunt lives in New Jersey,” Jubal began only to be interrupted by Maggie.

“We know, we thought you could step in. It’s not an interrogation, it’s just a few questions.” Maggie said, her voice gentle – the last thing she wanted was to make things worse, she knew Eleanor would already be in a state of both panic and shock, she didn’t want to make it worse by thinking she was being formally interviewed or interrogated.

“Why don’t we step into the hall?” OA suggested, thinking that maybe some time away from her mother would be good. Of course, he knew how mean that sounded if he said it out loud – in his head, he knew it must have been hard to walk into a room and see her mother injured.

Eleanor looked at Jubal who gave her a smile. “All four of us will be right outside,” he told her gently.

“Okay, anything I can do to help.”

The corridor resembled the colour white. White walls, white lights, the odd dash of colour provided by a nurse or doctor in scrubs.

“I know this is hard for you, seeing your mum like that, but all we want to do is find the person who did this.” Maggie explained.

Eleanor nodded. “She got shot, um,” she paused to think, “seven years ago, and the moment she woke up she wanted to be back at work. The person who shot her was the wife of some guy she put away in Washington State – I get that,” Again Eleanor paused, pulling at the sleeves of her jumper.

“But this, I don’t know who would do this. I don’t know why anyone would accuse her of ruining someone’s life.”

Jubal reached out to put a hand on Eleanor’s shoulder, almost prompting Eleanor to answer more of Maggie and OA’s unspoken questions.

“She has enemies, mainly people she’s put away – I would check prison records, but since she started working with you guys, things have been fine. She drops me at my friends, I go to school, she goes to work, things have been pretty normal,”

OA picked up on the slight pause, and experience told him something was there, something had flashed across Eleanor’s mind – something that could have been important.

“Except?” OA prompted.

When she didn’t speak, Maggie gestured to the chairs lining the hallway, sitting down, waiting for Eleanor to sit next to her.

“Your mum isn’t in trouble; I know she’s a great agent and a great boss. She sounds like a brilliant mum, but someone wanted to hurt her and all we want to do is find out who that person is.”

Maggie looked up at Jubal for some support.

Jubal moved and crouched down in front of Eleanor. “You know that we’re going to protect you and your mum, right? That we won’t let anything else happen – but if you know something, we need you to tell us. All we want to do is help both you and your mum, Elle.”

Eleanor seemed to nod a little, and Maggie felt her heartbreak slightly as the young girl with tears in her eyes.

“Mum, a week or so ago began acting a little overprotective. It happens every so often, usually after a case involving kids or something,” She hunched her shoulders up a little, wrapping her arms around herself, “I saw on the news that the FBI had been tracking that rapist that got out of prison and so I thought she was just trying to keep me safe, but,”

Again, Eleanor paused, tears in her eyes. “We had a fight, last night, because I snuck out – I was only gone for like an hour, but she went mental, about the city being dangerous and how people knew me, but I don’t know them. I told her she was being overprotective and annoying.”

Maggie and OA watched as the teen fell apart in front of them, the only comfort was Jubal crouched in front of her.

“I didn’t speak to her this morning, I didn’t say ‘I love you too’ when she said it and now-”

“Your mum is going to be okay, Elle, and she knows that you love her.” Jubal cut her off, knowing where this was heading.

“She was trying to keep my safe, I thought she was being paranoid about a case or something, but she was right, the city is dangerous.”

Maggie reached across, ducking her head a little so she was at eye level with Eleanor “We are going to do all we can to find the person who did this to your mum, okay?”

Eleanor nodded, “Can I go sit back with her?”

“Of course, I’ll be there in a minute.” Jubal said, and the three agents watched as Eleanor pulled herself together enough to walk back into her mother’s hospital room.

Jubal turned to his two agents. “Something clearly had Dana worried.”

“But did it have something to do with this attack – we saw the footage she didn’t react to the words. Surely, if something had her worried, she would have been on high alert, she would have done something sooner.” OA said, he knew his words may not have been helpful, but as much as he wanted a quick result, it didn’t make sense.

“OA is right,” Jubal said. “We need to look into it, but it seems more like parental fears than it does personal safety.”

“We should get the CCTV near Dana’s home, and some of the places she frequents.” Maggie said, looked at Jubal, taking a breath before adding. “You should stay with Eleanor. No matter what the doctors say, until Dana wakes up, the guilt of not telling her mum she loved her is going to eat her.”

Jubal nodded. “I spoke to Dana last night, she seemed fine, made a comment about raising teenagers, but nothing else that I thought was suspicious.”

“You’ll keep us updated on Dana’s condition?” OA asked, already knowing the answer.

Jubal nodded, “Of course. Did Kristen call the assistant director.”

Maggie and OA both nodded. “Yeah, they’re sending someone to oversee the case. We’re not sure who yet, should be in New York by this afternoon. According to Kristen they want to speak to you first, didn’t give a reason.”

“Washington never does.”

Maggie reached in her pocket just as Jubal took a step towards the room. “I know she has you and she’ll have her aunt here soon, but give that to Eleanor,” Maggie handed him her card. “Just in case she wants to talk.”

Jubal took it with a smile. “Dana would be really glad to know that you’re looking out for Elle.”

“We’re all looking out for each other, it’s what we do.”

Maggie and OA began walking back down the corridor towards the stairwell.

“Did you notice how he called her Elle and not Eleanor?” OA asked once they were both sure they were out of earshot.

“Elle, Ellie, they’re common nicknames.” Maggie replied.

“But Dana only ever refers to her as Eleanor, don’t you think that calling her Elle is a little personal?” OA asked.

“Dana and Jubal seem to be good friends, Eleanor has probably met Jubal before, she didn’t seem to feel uncomfortable by it.”

OA nodded; Maggie was right. “Let’s just hope it’s Jubal the temporary SAC wants to talk to and not Eleanor, I would hate to be anyone who upset that kid when Dana wakes up.”

\----------

Jubal gave Eleanor a comforting smile when temporary SAC Henry Williamson asked to talk to him a few hours later.

“I’ll be right outside, okay, Elle?” He said, as he made his way to the door. “Just shout if you need anything.”

Since Maggie and OA left all he knew was everyone was working on this. Kristen was going through CCTV of both the scene of the attack and of Dana’s home. OA and Maggie had gone out to speak to witnesses, NYPD was canvassing the area to see if anyone had noticed anything strange, everyone else was drawing up a list of names, people who wanted to hurt Dana, and then the one’s who might actually have the guts and the means to do it.

Eleanor hadn’t moved much. Jubal had managed to get her to drink something, and eat half of a sandwich, but that was all she could manage. Due to traffic and the weather her aunt was having trouble getting into the city, and all Jubal wanted was for Dana to wake up, or at least show some signs of waking up so that Eleanor had something to hold on to.

Jubal stepped outside the room, closing the door.

“How’s Dana doing?” Henry Williamson asked, seeing the look of apprehension on Jubal’s face before introducing himself. “I’m Henry Williamson, I work at Quantico, Dana and I worked together a few years back, I was asked by the assistant director to oversee the case.”

Jubal nodded and put his hand out to shake Henry’s.

“She’s stable. Her head was smashed multiple times against the sidewalk, so they sedated her to run tests, but the doctors think she’ll wake up – it’s just a waiting game.”

Henry nodded. “And her daughter?”

“Eleanor, fifteen, we pulled her out of school, Dana’s a single mother, her aunts on her way. She’s holding herself together, Agents Bell and Zidan asked her some questions earlier, they’re following up on it now.” 

Jubal watched as the other agent took in what was being said. “I’ve spoke to the people back at joint operations, I am going to work from there. By all accounts you know Dana quite well, so I thought I would start by asking you some questions.”

Jubal frowned slightly before shrugging. “The last time I spoke to her face to face was in the office yesterday, I spoke to her last night, she told me she would be late into the office because she had an appointment,”

Jubal paused, Henry knew the rest, and Jubal didn’t want to say anything out loud in case Eleanor could hear them.

“How long have you known, Dana?”

Jubal thought for a moment, he knew the dates, he just couldn’t work out why he was being asked.

“Since she began working in the New York office.” He knew he was lying, but right now he had no reason to believe that this had anything to do with the case ten years ago.

“Her daughter seems pretty comfortable around you.”

Jubal nodded, “I’ve met Dana a few times for coffee on the weekends, she brought Eleanor with her. Sometimes, other members of the team would come. Eleanor comes to the office after school a few times a week, she’s seen me around.” 

“Do you think this is personal or professional. When I knew Dana back at Quantico, she was a very private person, is that still true to the best of your knowledge?” Henry asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Jubal thought for a moment, “I’ve got kids of my own, we’ve spoken about them before, she talks about the cases she’s worked. I know she has a sister who lives in New Jersey and an older brother who died in Afghanistan, US Army.”

“So, to the best of your knowledge,”

“To the best of my knowledge I cannot think of a reason why anyone would target Dana. She isn’t on the street, and most of the cases she’s worked over the last few years have been as a consultant.”

Henry opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened to Dana’s hospital room.

“Sorry,” Eleanor whispered, giving the new agent an apologetic smile.

“Are you okay, Eleanor?” Jubal asked, reaching out to put a hand on the teens shoulder.

“Yeah, I was going to the bathroom, but I didn’t want mum to be on her own, in case, you know, she needs something.” Eleanor explained quickly.

“I think I have all I need, Agent Valentine, thank you.” Henry put in before Jubal could speak.

Henry smiled at Eleanor for a moment. “I’ll keep both you and your mother in my prayers.”

“Thank you,” Eleanor replied, before looking at Jubal. “Will you stay with her?”

“Of course,”

\----------

“Hey,” Maggie pulled Kristen from her thoughts, when she walked into the office, taking a seat at her desk. “You find anything?”

“Maybe, how about you?” She asked, looking across at the agent.

Both Maggie and OA had just been out of the office. They’d decided to canvas the area where Dana was attacked, hoping to come up with something, or to clarify the details and descriptions they’d been given earlier, but with it past noon, Maggie didn’t think anyone who witnessed the attack that morning would still be around.

“Another person came forward, OA is taking him to see the sketch artist now, but other than that, no one saw anything, and we have all the CCTV. What’s everyone else doing?”

Kristen, leant back in her chair, sighing. “NYPD are talking to Dana’s neighbours, but they’ve not come up with much. Dana and Eleanor keep to themselves most of the time. We did find out that Eleanor is a part of a lot of social clubs, gymnastics, swimming, that kind of thing, so we have officers going there – if this is personal whoever was hanging around outside Dana’s house could have also been hanging around outside Eleanor’s school or places she goes on a regular basis.”

Kristen paused for a moment, trying to think who else was doing something that could give them a lead.

“Henry Williamson, the temporary SAC has asked CIA and Homeland to go over some of the international cases Dana worked, she spent time in Europe before Eleanor was born, and she’s also spent time in the Middle East according to her file.”

Maggie gave a small smile. “At least everyone is on this. When OA and I spoke to Jubal and Eleanor she told us about Dana and how upset she was when she snuck out, well, it got me thinking, who would know Eleanor, but Eleanor wouldn’t necessarily know them?”

Kristen shrugged, “That could be anyone, former agents, anyone Dana’s worked with,”

“Or,” Maggie interrupted. “Her father. All this time, Dana never mentioned Eleanor’s dad, and on file he isn’t listed as a next of kin. Plus, when I was going through a rough patch after a case I spoke to Dana, about Jason, and she didn’t seem to relate like someone who’s lost a husband would – maybe it’s just me, but I think it’s worth checking out.” 

Kristen turned back to her computer. Maggie was right, Dana had never mentioned marriage or Eleanor’s father, and while both women knew there could be multiple explanations for that, it was something they wanted to check out.

“Okay, here we go,” Kristen said, typing some more, before turning her screen so Maggie could see.

“What have we got?” Both women turned around to see OA walking towards them.

“We’re checking out Eleanor’s biological father – Maggie thinks that he could be someone that knows Eleanor, but she may not know him.”

OA nodded in agreement, pulling up his own chair to where he could see Kristen’s computer screen.

“Ivan Moore, fifty-seven. Born and raised in New Hampshire, worked for the state department as an aide. Married Dana Mosier in 1999, had a daughter Eleanor in April of 2004, however in December of 2003 Dana put out a restraining order against him, apparently, he had a habit of stealing money and hitting whoever questioned him about it. Their divorced was finalised in 2005, Dana was granted sole custody of Eleanor.”

Both Maggie and OA shared a look. “Doesn’t sound like the type who suddenly wants to know how his kid is doing. Any idea as to where he is now, or if he’s remarried?”

Kristen tapped a few more keys on her keyboard, before frowning a little, “Hang on, I think,” she paused, checking a few more things out.

“So, he moved back to New Hampshire, but he informed the state that he was living with his girlfriend, Hannah MacKay, who rented an apartment in Manhattan four months ago, but,” Again Kristen paused, checking some more things out, before showing Maggie and OA the screen.

“Hannah MacKay was escorted off the premises of the St Johns High School Campus, after kicking up a fuss about seeing a student, she was also asked to leave the West Side Leisure centre a week ago –Eleanor Mosier is a sophomore at St John’s and has swim practice at that leisure centre twice a week.” 

Maggie smiled a little. “I am willing to bet we find her on CCTV hanging around Dana’s house to. That rented apartment, got an address?”

Kristen nodded. “I’ll send you the details.”

OA spoke up. “The woman who attacked Dana, she said ‘her life’ you think this Hannah is trying to get to Eleanor?”

“If Ivan Moore had an issue with Dana getting custody, her life could be referring to Eleanor.”

\----------

“That was Kristen,” OA said as he and Maggie walked up another flight of stairs. “Positive ID on Hannah MacKay, a block away from Dana’s home, on seven separate occasions over the last two weeks. She also did some more digging on Ivan Moore,” OA paused, as they came to a stop outside the right apartment.

“He has terminal cancer. According to court records, he could make contact with Eleanor when she turned sixteen, which is in two months, but it looks like he doesn’t have that long left.”

Maggie knocked on the door, “Well, I have a lot of questions, let’s hope Hannah MacKay has some answers.”

When the door opened, both Maggie and OA had their badges ready. “Hannah MacKay?” OA asked, and the woman nodded. “Agent Zidan, this is Agent Bell, we’re with the FBI.

“Figured you would show up sooner or later.” She replied. From first glance she seemed harmless, well dress, blonde, short, genuine looking. “I take it this is about Dana?”

Maggie tried not to nod, “Can we come in?”

Hannah let them into her apartment, “I didn’t do it, if that’s what you’re here to ask.”

“Do what?” OA asked. Most people knew there had been an assault, some even knew it was an agent with the FBI, but Dana’s name hadn’t been released to the press yet – although that would all change by the end of the day.

“I know what you think, but Ivan, my boyfriend, he still has friends in the State Department, who have friends in the agencies. He called me this morning to say Dana had been attacked. You can check CCTV; I haven’t left this building.”

Maggie had walked slowly through the apartment, quietly looking around, Hannah’s quick explanation making her feel uneasy.

“But you have been hanging around her home, and her daughter’s school.” OA pointed out. “I mean, isn’t it a little odd that rent an apartment in New York, with money that really should be going towards medical bills to stalk a senior FBI agent and her daughter, then all of a sudden she gets attacked.”

“We know your boyfriend is Ivan Moore, we know Eleanor Mosier is his daughter. I mean, with Dana dead that leaves him with a pretty good chance at gaining custody,” Maggie told her. “You know, maybe we should take his back to the office –“ She was interrupted by Hannah.

“I can explain all of it. All of why I was hanging around, and I will tell you everything, but I didn’t hurt Dana.”

OA nodded. “You need to start talking.”

Hannah took a shaky breath, stepping back so she could sit on the couch behind her.

“Ivan doesn’t have long left, it’s cancer. Just before Christmas he stopped taking all of the medication, he said he was done with it all. He asked me to do this one final thing, all he wanted before he died was to see a picture of his daughter and hear her voice – that was it.”

Hannah shook her head in disbelief, “I didn’t even know he had a daughter. But I love him, so I said I would try. It was only when I got to New York that I realised how protective Dana was, and how difficult it would be to get near her, but I didn’t want to go back empty handed.”

“So,” Maggie began, after a minute or so of silence, in which she was trying to comprehend it all. “You hung around the house, the school, the leisure centre, all to get a photograph and a voice recording?”

“Yes. Look, Ivan is dying, and I never wanted kids. Why would I attack Dana knowing that Eleanor wouldn’t have anyone else if she died?”

\----------

It was around twenty minutes later when Maggie and OA left Hannah MacKay’s apartment.

“Do you really think you did the right thing?” OA asked Maggie as they walked down the stairs.

Maggie stopped, looking at her partner. “All that man wants is to see his kid before he dies, I don’t think Hannah would hurt Dana, look at her, she’s in her thirties, five foot two, she’s stick thin, do you really think she has the strength or the rage to slam someone’s head against the pavement multiple times?”

OA shook his head, and carried on waking, knowing that Maggie would follow him.

“You gave a stranger, the social media account of a victim’s daughter, Mags. I get why you did it, but if Dana, or even Jubal find out, I don’t know if they’ll see it the same way you do. Dana clearly divorced him for a reason.”

Maggie knew what she’d done may have been wrong, but she couldn’t help herself. She knew how protective Dana was, but she also knew that grief did strange things to people. She stood by her decision.

“Hannah MacKay is heading back to New Hampshire with what she came here to get in a few hours, so Kristen needs to check the CCTV before then.” Maggie said as she began to quicken her pace, catching up to OA.

“I think she’s in the clear.” OA told her.

“Why?” Maggie asked, she knew that look. Something else had happened.

“A woman’s just been attacked in Hells Kitchen, beaten with bare fists, attacker screaming ‘you ruined her life’ at the top of her lungs.”

“DOA?” Maggie asked.

“Alive, conscious and willing to speak to us, victim is still at the scene, NYPD are canvassing. We’ll call Jubal on the way.”

“This woman is targeting people for a reason.” Maggie pointed out what the both of them seemed to be thinking.

“Yeah, I just wish we knew what that was.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it awful? Let me know if you want to see a part three to this!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I would keep going with this - but I also have some other ideas for some shorter pieces and maybe one part pieces, so if you'd prefer to see them, let me know! 
> 
> Any and all mistakes are mine. I hope this makes a little more sense than the last chapter - and doesn't suck completely.

Maggie tried to push through the crowd as quickly as she could when they got to the crime scene. Both she and OA flashing their badges at the cop holding the line, before ducking under the tape.

“Agents Bell and Zidan,” Maggie said to the officer that greeted them.

“Commander Wallace, NYPD. Heard it was your boss that got hit this morning. When my officers responded and heard what had happened, we called you guys.”

Maggie nodded, with a tight smile. “We appreciate it. What happened here?”

“Seems to be the same as this morning’s attack.” He began to explain.

OA looked around, there seemed to be people around, police officers were canvassing, asking questions, but he knew half of them would have appeared after the fact, simply to just have a look. He knew it was human. When something like this happens, it’s human nature to be curious.

“OA,” Maggie called him name. “Vic’s name is Laura Keen. Spoke to the Commander, he said everything sounded the same as this morning. A woman approached, shouted, with no time for Laura to react. Apparently, she only hit her head once, a guy from a local restaurant came out waving a shotgun.”

“Wanna talk to Laura Keen first?” He asked, spotting the young woman sitting in the back of an ambulance.

“Yeah, they want to talk her to the hospital to get checked over.” Maggie explained as they made their way over to where the victim was being treated.

Laura Keen was a young woman, according to police worked as a waitress at one of the local restaurants in Hell’s Kitchen, had just finished her shift as was heading to the subway to go home.

“Laura, my name is Maggie Bell, this is OA Zidan, we’re with the FBI. Are you up for a few questions?” Maggie asked with a small smile.

“Yeah. I didn’t see much,” she said, “She just screamed, I thought she was going to shoot me or something, but, um,” Laura shook her head, shrugging.

“Do you remember what she said?” OA asked. It would be the first time they got a clear indication of what this woman was saying to her victims before she attacked them.

“You ruined her life, you know.” Laura repeated what she’s heard.

Maggie and OA shared a quick look. It matched up with what everyone was saying. Hopefully, this time, the good Samaritan who stopped the attack would have gotten a better look and would be willing to work with a sketch artist, that way they could get a better description out there. The only aim was to get this woman off the streets before she hurt someone else.

“Can you think of anyone who would say that to you? Or anything that may have caused someone to say that to you?” Maggie asked gently. When someone spoke about ruining someone’s life, it was usually always personal.

“I don’t know anyone who would say it. I’m a quiet person, don’t really share my personal life with anyone.” Laura said quietly.

OA nodded, “Anything that you may have done, intentionally or unintentionally that could cause someone to feel like you’d ruined someone’s life?”

Laura opened her mouth to speak but closed it again.

“Laura, no one is here to judge you. All we want to do is find out who did this, and make sure they don’t do it again – even if you think something isn’t relevant, it might be.” Maggie tried, hoping the softer approach would get something out of her.

Laura shifted uncomfortably looking between Maggie and OA before she spoke again.

“Before this,” She gestured to the street, presumably the restaurant she worked at. “I was a secretary at one of the companies in the Financial District, I, um,”

“It’s okay, take your time.” OA said.

“I had an affair with a member of the senior management. He was married, and she was pregnant – he wanted some fun, I provided that.” Laura said, pulling the blanket tighter around herself.

“Did his wife find out?”

Laura nodded. “In the end, yes. But that was a year ago, I moved as soon as she had their baby. I haven’t spoken or seen anyone from there since.”

Maggie and OA both nodded, OA getting the attention of one of the medics.

“You’ve been a great help, Laura. An agent will meet you at the hospital to take a full statement.”

Maggie and OA stood for a moment, watching as the loaded Laura Keen, victim number two onto the ambulance.

“We should call Jubal, ask him to come into the office. We need to start thinking about motive, this wasn’t just about Dana.”

OA agreed, pulling his phone out of his pocket when he heard it buzz. “Press release just went out. Let the media frenzy begin.”

“Let’s speak to this other witness, and then get out of here.” Maggie said, not waiting for OA to agree before walking over to the witness.

“Sir, I’m agent Bell, this is agent Zidan, we’re with the FBI, can we ask you a few questions about what you saw this afternoon?” Maggie asked.

“Sure thing, don’t know if I can be much help though.” He admitted.

“Just tell us what you saw, something minor could be useful.”

They spent five minutes speaking to the second witness, who didn’t see much. Only what witnesses saw this morning. A woman, walking up to another woman in the street, screaming, before attacking them.

\----------

Back at the office, Kristen wasn’t having much luck with Dana’s enemies, or with CCTV.

“The only thing we have to go on is a sketch, but the press liaison thinks it’s too early to put it out, so, we just have a small statement on the attack itself, with details and a potential sketch to follow.” Kristen explained to Maggie and OA, and some others who were listening, while the press coverage played on the TV.

“Did you look in Laura Keen?” OA asked, his eyes not leaving the screen.

“Yes, and she’s telling the truth. She was a secretary, left last year. She was offered a lot of money to keep quiet, but she never took it. Began working at a restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen three months ago. She got a parking ticket while in college, but other than that, and the affair, of course, she’s clean.”

“An agent with the FBI, a former secretary to a billion-dollar company, and the only think linking them is a woman believing both women ruined someone else’s life.” OA summarised.

“So, we’re looking at something and maybe someone that links both of these women.” The team turned to see Jubal walking towards them, and all three of them smiled.

“Hey, how’s Dana?” Kristen was the first to ask.

“Good. The sedation is wearing off, and they can’t see any signs of lasting damage to her brain, skull or neck, so it’s looking positive. Her sister is with Eleanor now, she’s going to call me if anything changes, but I said I wouldn’t be long.” Jubal said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“How’s the second victim?” He went on to ask.

“She’s going to the hospital for treatment, but, other than that, she’s okay,” Maggie said, pausing for a moment, wondering if or not to say what she thought about the case.

“Something tells me that’s not all you wanted to say.” Jubal gave her a small nod, more of a prompting to go on.

“This woman is going around trying to get revenge almost. For our second victim, we think it was for the wife of the man she slept with, but if that is true and that’s the pattern, then it means,” Maggie’s voice got quieter towards the end.

“You think Dana had an affair with someone, and this woman took issue with it, and is now hurting those who ruined the lives of others?”

He watched as Maggie, OA and Kristen nodded.

“It’s something to ask her when she wakes up. So, working on the theory this woman is targeting woman, so far, for some kind of revenge, what’s her next move? Who is her next target? She went from someone who could be classed as high profile to someone who blends in.”

OA shrugged, “She’s all over the place, would it be fair to consider that she may be struggling with her mental health?”

He tried to put it as gently as he could.

“Let’s look publicly first, news stories that centre around situations that could fit the motive.” Jubal said, directing his ask towards Kristen.

Turning to Maggie and OA, he was almost at a loss of what to say, it felt like they’d sit a dead end.

“See if you can get anymore CCTV, check the travel links between the two attack sites, see if we can get anything from that.” He said.

He was about to walk off himself, when someone got his attention. “Sir,”

“Yes?” He turned to the voice.

“A woman by the name of Kate Ward is here to see you.”

Jubal nodded slowly. “Thanks Sean, bring her to conference room three.”

“Everything okay?” It was Maggie who asked.

Jubal tried to smile. “I have no idea – Kate Ward is my ex-wife.”

\----------

Jubal pushed the door to the conference room closed, turning to face the woman he was once married to.

“Kate, what’s going on?” Not once in the time they were married or since they got divorced did Kate ever come to see Jubal at work.

“The boys are fine,” Kate said first, with a small smile. “It’s about Anna, actually.”

Jubal pointed to the chairs behind her, gesturing for her to sit down. Jubal couldn’t quite put the pieces together, but clearly it was important for his ex-wife to come directly to his office to talk about it.

Anna was Kate’s sister, and Jubal’s ex-sister-in-law. Jubal hadn’t seen her in years, but the boys would often mention that she’d been to stay with them. It had been almost nine years since Jubal and Kate divorced, only months after their youngest son turned one, but before that, had it not have been for Jubal’s son, they rarely spoke, they’d split up a long time before everything was finalised, but for the sake of his children, Jubal tried to keep things civil.

“I heard about the attack, I had no idea it was Dana, how is she? How’s Eleanor?” Kate asked quickly, having so many questions. “I mean, do you want to tell the boys?”

Jubal raised his hands a little, hoping to calm her down. “Dana is stable, and Eleanor is with her. Right now, I don’t think the boys need to be worried about this, if they ask about it, then I will leave it up to you – but as far as I know, the doctors said Dana will be fine.”

“So,” Jubal asked, pausing for a moment, “What did you want to talk about Anna for?”

“I think,” Kate paused, avoiding eye contact for a moment. “I think that she may have something to do with the attacks.”

Jubal frowned, wanting to laugh at how mad that sounded, something Kate clearly picked up on.

“She came off her medication about a month ago, and she was doing so well, but,” again Kate paused, not being able to get her thoughts in order to speak a complete sentence.

“She found an old wedding photo of ours, and at the time she was fine, she just smiled and commented about how young we looked, but about a week ago, she started talking about how people could knowingly ruin the lives of others.”

“Kate, I get that you’re worried, but,” Kate shook her head, cutting Jubal off.

“She’s not in the assisted living facility, and when they let me in, I found this.” She handed Jubal what looked like a journal.

Jubal took it, opening it up to the most recent page. There in black ink read the words ‘you ruined her life,’

“Jubal, I think,” Kate paused, and Jubal knew why – she didn’t want to say it out loud. “I think Anna may have something to do with these attacks.”

Jubal nodded, picking the journal up, “I’ll get this back to you, but I’ll have an agent come and walk you out.” He said, excusing himself and walking back into the JOC.

His mind was spinning. He had lied to Williamson believing that this had nothing to do with his relationship with Dana, not his relationship with her now and not the relationship he had with her ten years ago – clearly, he was wrong.

“Okay, listen up,” He raised his voice to get everyone’s attention. “We have a new person of interest.”

He passed the journal to OA and Maggie; they both took a moment to put gloves on before handling it.

“Annabella Ward, she’s 42, lives at the Greenwood Health Institution – two days ago, she wrote in a personal journal the words that this attacker is saying to our victims – let’s find out where she is, and what she’s been up to.”

Kristen, Maggie and OA, gathered around the ASAC.

“Do you know this woman?”

Jubal sighed and nodded, “She’s my ex-sister-in-law. Kate, my ex-wife and Annabella’s sister, brought this in. She thinks Anna is involved somehow.”

“What do you think?” 

Jubal shook his head a little. “I think things just got a lot more personal.”

**\----------**

Eleanor was the first to notice the slight movement in her mothers left hand. Her breath instantly caught in her throat – but she didn’t want to disturb anyone – not yet.

Jubal had arrived around ten minutes ago, after spending just over an hour back at the office, catching up with the case. Eleanor had noticed how distant he looked when he walked back in, but she chose not to mention it.

When Dana’s hand moved a second time, Eleanor took a deep breath, she so desperately wanted her mother to wake up, or to show at least a small sign that she would wake up at some point. She believed the doctors, she believed her mother would eventually return to normal, but when she was lying there helpless in a hospital bed, it was easy to let the doubt and second-guessing creep in.

“Mum,” Eleanor’s voice was quiet, as she leant forward in her chair, watching her mother closely.

“Elle,” Jubal said, reacting to her voice.

“She moved her hand,” Eleanor said with a small smile. “That’s a good sign right, because they said she would wake up soon, but that was this morning, that was,” Eleanor stopped when she turned her head to see her aunt and Jubal looking at her.

After a moment or two she realised that neither of them was looking at her,

Whipping her head back around, she saw her mother slowly begin to open her eyes.

“Mum,”

Dana tried to make some kind of noise in response. For the last few minutes she had begun to sense where she was, things slowly coming back to her as the medication wore off. Her brain gave her flashes of the hours previous – the attack, the voices, the lights.

Slowly, she began to move parts of her body, checking everything still worked in the way it should. Her fingers, her toes, she bent both her knee’s ever so slightly, shifting herself a little to ensure she could still move, before very gently, moving her head to the side and opening her eyes.

“Hi,” She heard her daughter say.

When she was able to focus her vision, she saw Eleanor sat at her bedside, a smile on her face, but tears in her eyes.

“Eleanor,” Dana tried to speak, but her throat felt too dry.

“I’ll go and get a nurse,” Jubal said quietly, excusing himself to go and find someone who could check Dana over now she looked to be awake.

“You’re okay now, mum, you’re going to be okay.”

Dana let her head rest again, still feeling a dull pain at the back of her skull, and a pain behind her eyes at the light. She was beginning to remember bits of what happened, up until a certain point, but she couldn’t worry about that now. She just wanted to be thankful that she was still there, all her sense working, and her body still intact.

\----------

Maggie let out a sigh of relief, before smiling. When she re read the message on her phone again to be sure she looked up at Kristen and OA who were stood with her in the JOC.

“Dana’s awake.” She told them, her voice wavering slightly at the news.

“Seriously?” OA said, taking a step towards Maggie to look at her phone.

“Jubal just text, she woke up ten minutes ago, doctors are saying she’s going to make a full recovery.”

“Hey!” OA raised his voice to get the attention of everyone else in the room. “Dana woke up ten minutes ago, and the doctors have said she’s going to make a full recovery.”

Their was a moment in the JOC where everyone seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief before people began to share a laugh – they still had a case to investigate, but for that moment their boss was okay, and it was a moment where they could celebrate.

Kristen ran a hand through her hair, nodding a little, “I’m going to inform Williamson. We should, um, we should call the press team, let them know.”

Maggie and OA nodded. “You do that, OA and I will go and find this Annabella Ward.”

“I don’t want to ruin the moment,” Maggie began as she and OA stepping into the elevator. “But, now Dana’s awake, we’re going to have to ask her the hard questions.”

“Good thing is she’s been doing this for thirty years – so she knows they’re coming,” OA replied. “But right now, we need to focus on finding Annabella Ward, and hoping she can give us some answers.”

Maggie nodded, “Is it wrong to say I am hoping for an alibi?” 

OA shrugged, “If it makes you feel any better, I am hoping for the same thing. Having both Dana and Jubal’s lives flipped upside down in the same day, I don’t want to see what that’s like.”

As they reached the car, Maggie’s phone pinged. “Kristen has another address for this Annabella, so I think we should start there – her sister said she wasn’t at the assisted living place.”

OA nodded. “You don’t really think Dana would sleep with a married man, do you?”

Maggie got in the car before answering OA’s question. The question itself was one that would have to be asked, it was just neither of them wanted to say it out loud.

Maggie sighed, “I don’t know. I don’t want to believe it, but you know if this gets out people are going to start saying she slept around to get ahead. Whatever her answer is, she’s a victim, and our boss – I think we have to respect her.”

“It always comes down to the woman,” OA said quietly. “One of my sisters started seeing this older guy, he was in banking or whatever, family had a house in the Hamptons. For months all anyone could say was that she was with him for the money.”

“What happened?” Maggie asked as OA pulled out of the garage.

“She said yes when he proposed a year after he lost his job and got into major debt. They’re both living in Queen’s paying it off one month at a time.”

Maggie smiled. “I don’t think Dana would sleep around to get ahead. I mean when she needs to she’ll be the boss, but look at how she speaks to Jubal, or Isobel, or David, hell, look at how she speaks to all of us, we’re respected and most of the time treated like equals.”

“Still doesn’t answer the question. So,” OA began, shrugging a little, trying to figure it out in his head. “What if it’s not just about cheating or being unfaithful – their has to be loads of ways to ruin someone’s life. Getting a promotion, money, friends, houses, all of these things can lead someone else to feel left out or like their lives have ben ruined.”

“So, this woman may not have any kind of pattern to who she goes after. She could just be working of some kind of list.” Maggie felt angry almost at the idea that this attacker could be hard to track down.

They continued the rest of the drive in silence.

“Right, Kristen said this is where Annabella Ward spends most of her time when she’s not at the assisted living place.”

Maggie looked up at the building, it seemed just like any other building in New York. Something that she wouldn’t pay much attention to if she was driving past.

“Community hub for support.” Maggie read the sign next to the door. “Let’s see if she’s here.”

“Hi,” OA took the lead when they reached the reception desk. “I’m agent Zidan, this is agent Bell, we’re with the FBI, here to see Annabella Ward, is she in the building?”

The receptionist shook her head, “We’ve not seen Anna in a few days. If she’s not at the assisted living facility, she may be with her sister. I am not sure where else she would be. Maybe you should call Kate Ward, she’s her next of kin.”

OA nodded, glancing over at Maggie. “We’ll do that. If she does come back,” OA pulled a card out of his pocket, “Can you call us? She’s not in any trouble, we just want to ask her some questions.”

The receptionist nodded, taking the card, before stepping away from the desk.

OA turned to Maggie who sighed inwardly – they knew she wasn’t at home, and she wasn’t with her sister, that didn’t leave many other places for them to look.

Just as they were walking out, Maggie’s phone rang.

“Kristen,” She answered the phone.

OA walked next to her, trying to piece together the conversation while only being able to hear one side of it.

“We’ll head there now.”

Maggie hung up turning to OA. “Jubal’s at the hospital with Dana, Kristen says she’s ready to go through what happened.”

“Anything else?”

“Kate Ward left the office soon after Jubal, and Annabella Ward’s medical records are sealed.”

OA frowned, “Sealed? There must be a pretty good reason for that. Has Kristen spoken to Williamson?”

Maggie shook her head. “She says it’s next on her list, but right now, Williamson wants to see if Dana can shed some light on her attack. Kristen went through more of the CCTV as well, there’s a woman who looks very similar leaving both scenes, Kristen is trying to get ID’s on them both, but Annabella Ward has a pretty unique scar on her neck – she thinks that they can ID her from that.”

OA smiled, “You got all that from a few moments on the phone.”

“If this woman has a list she’s working from, we could be looking at another victim in the next twelve hours.” Maggie shot back, partially sarcasm, but mainly fear.

They needed to know what Dana saw, heard and felt – they needed a fresh lead on this case if they were going to catch whoever did this. In the space of just under twenty-four hours, this woman had attacked two women, and by Maggie and OA’s standards, that was two women too many.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Let me know if you'd like to see more, or if this should just slowly fade out of existence!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did some editing, so hopefully this chapter isn't too long! Mistakes are all mine, and I'm sorry. 
> 
> I hope you're still enjoying this.

“They just want to ask you some questions, but if you don’t feel up to it, then I can speak to them.” Jubal said to Dana with a soft smile.

Dana shook her head, “I’ll be fine. The sooner they take my statement, the sooner you can hopefully catch whoever did this.”

Jubal nodded. He hadn’t yet told Dana about his conversation with his ex-wife. Usually, she would be the first one he spoke to, but this was different – the thought of someone he called family for years hurting Dana for something that could easily be a misunderstood situation – it pained him to even think about how to start that.

“It’s sweet that you’re worried about me, but I’m okay. I’m all still attached, I can see fine, speak fine. I just want to go home.”

“You were attacked this morning, that’s not even twelve hours ago,” Jubal began.

“And I once saw a gunshot victim almost die in the back on an ambulance at four in the morning on a Sunday, only to go to the hospital, get patched up and walk out of there before dinner.”

He sighed; he was being a little more overprotective than he’d intended. “One night, just so they can make sure they’ve covered all their bases and so I don’t spend half the night worrying about you.”

Dana went to reply, but the knock on her hospital room door stopped her.

“Hi,” Maggie was the first to step into the room, OA a step behind her.

“Hi, how are you feeling?” OA asked, moving to the side of her bed. The team were close, but they also knew boundaries however, in the moment, it felt right to both Maggie and OA to give their boss a hug.

“Better, thank you.” Dana answered with a small nod of the head. “Jubal said you needed me to go through what happened?”

Maggie nodded, “Yeah, if you feel up to it,” She glanced around the small room. “Eleanor’s not here?”

“My sister took her to go and get some proper food and some fresh air.”

Maggie waited a few seconds before sitting down in one of the chairs close to Dana’s bed.

“Do you remember anything at all from this morning?” She asked finally, a part of her trying to separate her personal and professional feelings.

It didn’t happen often, usually Maggie was good enough at putting her feelings on hold while she dealt with cases, but with this team it felt different somehow. Seeing Dana like she did, lying on the pavement, with a potential brain bleed – it all became personal.

“I had an appointment; it was a last-minute thing. I was walking away from it, and I heard this woman shouting,” Dana paused, closing her eyes for a moment, “I’d seen some kids hanging around, I thought it was them, but,”

Maggie gave her a moment, before pressing her some more on what had happened.

“It was something about ruining a life, her life, his life, I don’t really remember what she said word for word, but the next thing I knew I was on the ground and I had people telling me it would be okay. It hurt my head too much to open my eyes, so I just laid there.” 

OA noticed the pain and anger on Jubal’s face as Maggie and Dana spoke. He wasn’t sure if the anger was directed at someone else or at Jubal himself, but things were beginning to unravel, things were beginning to come clear as suspects were narrowed down, and the team were working with a motive. 

OA noticed how the conversation had slowed down and took that as his chance to ask Dana some of the harder questions.

“A few hours after your attack, another woman was also attacked. Same words, head smashed against the ground, but she wasn’t beaten as badly as you were. That victim told us about an affair she had with one of her old managers who happened to be married, we believe that’s why she was targeted.” OA explained the best he could without giving too much away.

“We think whoever attacked you is targeting people who have ruined someone’s life in some way,” Maggie tried to put it simply, asking a question without actually coming out and asking the question.

“Is there anything you can think of that you’ve done that could lead someone to believe that you ruined someone else’s life?” OA asked.

Dana thought for a moment, glancing over at Jubal before shaking her head.

“I mean, I’ve put people away, I’ve testified in big cases, but I have never,” She trailed off, shrugging and shaking her head.

Maggie took a deep breath, “The other victim admitted to us that she had an affair, like OA said, is there anything in your personal life,” Maggie hoped that would be enough to prompt her.

“I’ve never had an affair if that’s what you’re asking. I’m divorced, he, Ivan, he doesn’t have rights to see Eleanor, he’s tried, but it’s always been ruled in my favour – I don’t think he would go as far as to do this, or to ask someone else to.”

“Dana,” OA said, but stopped and started again, “We know about the argument you had with Eleanor last night,”

Dana chuckled, “She snuck out, I had an issue with it, she got angry. Eleanor isn’t capable of doing this much damage to someone, she feels guilty every time she kills a bug,”

“We know,” Jubal was the one to cut Dana off. “We spoke to Hannah MacKay, she’s Ivan Moore’s girlfriend. Hannah is the one who’s been hanging around your house.”

Dana frowned a little, looking at the three agents in front of her. “I, I don’t understand.”

The three agents in the room shared a look.

“That’s why you got upset with Eleanor, isn’t it? Not just because she was sneaking out, but because you had seen someone hanging around and you knew that if Eleanor wasn’t with you, you couldn’t protect her.” Maggie said.

“It was Ivan?” Dana asked, still a look of confusion on her face.

“No. Hannah MacKay didn’t attack you, but your ex-husband did send her, he has terminal cancer, and he wanted to see Eleanor before he died and because he legally wasn’t able to do that he sent Hannah here to try and get some pictures of her.” Maggie explained further.

“So, who attacked me this morning?” Dana asked, not being one to go too deep into her personal life.

“That’s what we’re trying to find out.” Maggie said, this time with a reassuring smile.

OA’s phone ringing stopped whatever conversation was about to happen.

Maggie watched him as he walked out of the room before turning back to Dana.

“We are doing everything we can to find out who did this and stop them before they hurt anyone else. If you think of anything, or remember anything, just call one of us.”

“Give me two days and I’ll be back in the office.” Dana said with a small laugh.

Maggie couldn’t help but grin, “I, along with everyone else will look forward to it – but you should take all the time you need.”

“Maggie,” OA got her attention from the door. “We need to go.”

“We’re all going to come back later; I know Kristen really wants to see you as well.” OA said, as Maggie got up, giving a small nod to Jubal as she did so.

Dana only nodded as she watched the two agents leave the room.

In the hall, Maggie turned to OA. “What’s going on.”

“Annabella Ward has been identified as the woman on CCTV walking away from both crime scenes,” He hesitated before speaking again, prompting Maggie to give him a look. “And, Kristen said there’s been a third attack, the victim died at the scene around five minutes ago.”

\----------

“NYPD are still canvassing some of the area’s where Annabella Ward may be, but so far they’ve found nothing.” Maggie summarised the update she’d just received from the JOC.

“It’s what just past five, people are heading home for the day, it’s getting dark? Some of these living facilities work to curfews, hopefully she’ll turn up.” OA said, as they walked over to the crime scene.

“What happened?” OA asked, they were in Brooklyn, or specifically on the pier, near the docks for the ferries. The police were stopping people from walking past, but they were in full view of everyone on the bridge.

“We’re not sure, I’ve got some of my guys taking statements. The victim got off the ferry, it seemed her attacker was waiting for her, screaming something about ruining a life, no one really knew what was happening until the attacker ran off – I’ve got people canvassing.”

Maggie looked over at OA, who had crouched down by their latest victim, she was nicely dressed, hair combed underneath the white sheet that had been placed over her body.

“Her name is Imogen Donaldson, 37, married, three kids. She lived in White Plains, she was a legal advisor, a few of her clients lived in Brooklyn.” The police officer explained.

“Is it okay if we take it from here?” Maggie asked, the officer.

“Yeah, already got a call from your boss – we’re handing this over.”

Maggie took a step closer to OA. “I take it that it’s not a pretty sight.”

OA shook his head. “She’s had her head smashed against the pavement like Dana and Laura Keen, but this time it cracked her skull – she bled out.”

Maggie screwed her face up at the thought, before looking around.

“We’re going to get the same answers we got from before. Annabella Ward was walking away from both crime scenes, if CCTV shows her walking away from this one, we have our attacker.”

OA stood up, looking at Maggie. “We should go back to the office. Call in Kate Ward, we need to know what’s going on with her sister – we don’t have medical records, we don’t have anything, we need something on her, something that tells us why and where she might be heading next.”

Maggie nodded in agreement and was just about to walk away when she heard a commotion behind her. Almost in sync, she and OA turned to face what was going on, and from the moment they saw it, they knew what was happening, and neither of them could do anything about it.

Husband. Grieving husband.

“I know you don’t want to,” OA started, and Maggie nodded, not needing him to finish his sentence.

Neither of them wanted to ask a man who’d just found out his wife had died if she’d done anything to warrant her death. It wasn’t going to be an easy question, but they needed to speak to him.

“Sir,” Maggie was the one who lead the conversation when they reached the gentleman, who’d been pulled aside by police.

“She’s,” He began, but it was all too much, he had tears streaming down his face, his hand clutching at his jacket, almost where his heart is.

“The victim’s wife, Andrew Donaldson.”

“Mr Donaldson, my name is Maggie, and this is OA, we’re with the FBI.” Maggie said, knowing that it would take longer than a minute for him to catch his breath – she’d been where he was, on the receiving end of that news, it took a lot longer than a minute. 

“Sir, I know how hard this is, but if you’re feeling up to it, we’d like to ask you a few questions.” Maggie said, her voice was genuinely sympathetic.

The victim’s wife seemed to look at her for a moment, before nodded a little. “Will it help?”

“Any information you can give us may help us catch who killed your wife, sir.” OA told him, putting himself next to the gentleman as if to act as a barrier between him and the growing crowd of people.

“If you think it’ll help,”

“When was the last time you saw your wife?” Maggie asked, better to start off with some standard questions that just straight in.

“This morning, we did what we do every morning, got up, got the kids up, breakfast and then she went to work. I take the kids to school, and we call each other over lunch,”

“Is that what happened today?” OA asked.

Andrew Donaldson nodded. “She said she had to make a stop in Brooklyn, so she would be late home. One of her clients has a court date coming up – custody battle, I think,” He seemed to stop and think for a moment. “Do you think that’s why, what she does, is that why she was killed?”

“We don’t know that yet, we’re hoping that you could shed some light onto it. Has your wife either intentionally or unintentionally done something that could upset, distress or anger anyone else?”

Andrew shook his head, looking slightly offended by the suggestion.

“No, she’s a good person, we’re good people. We go to church, Imogen did work for free, we adopted kids whose parents weren’t fit enough to look after them, we’re with the PTA, we raise money for charity, we’re good people!” He was getting more and more upset.

Maggie and OA only nodded, seeing no point in trying to level with him. His wife’s body was still being looked at by detectives and now by the medical examiner behind a small sheet of tarp that they’d put up – he was in no fit state to go through proper questioning.

“She was a good person,”

Maggie smiled, “I am sure she was, Mr Donaldson. We’re going to leave you with these detectives who will support you with what happens next.”

He didn’t do much, he only nodded.

OA said a small thank you, before taking a few steps away, ready to push through crowds again to get to the car.

“What he said about them being good people,”

“The kids?” Maggie asked, to see if she was thinking what he was thinking.

“Yeah, I mean, if they adopted or fostered kids whose parents couldn’t look after them – how many kids are adopted while their parents are in prison?” The question was rhetorical, but OA had a point.

“How many of those parents believe they’re going to get their kids back when they get released?”

\----------

“Any developments?” Maggie asked Kristen.

Kristen pointed to the screen without speaking. Above her, three screens showed locations just a few minutes’ walk from the crime scenes, each other them with the same woman in shot, time stamped moments after the attacks too place.

“That’s,” OA was about to say, but he was cut off by another voice.

“My sister-in-law.” Jubal was leaning against one of the desks. “Both Dana and Williamson know.”

OA took a deep breath, “What have they said?” He asked.

“Williamson want’s the both of you to interview Kate, while Kristen tracks down Anna. Dana is spending the night in hospital, but she wants to be back here.”

No one could argue with that – it sounded like Dana. She was alive and kicking, so why shouldn’t she be in the office, trying to do all she could to help her team take down, now a killer?

Kristen tapped a few keys, bringing up another screen. “We’ve been denied access to Anna’s medical records, they’re sealed under a part of the mental health act.”

Maggie didn’t know what to say to make any of that news better, so instead she looked at Kristen.

“Imogen Donaldson, our latest victim, can you look into her children. Her husband mentioned that they adopted kids whose parents where not good enough, we think it could be a possible reason. I think having your kids taken away may qualify as life ruining.”

“I would say it does. Kate Ward is here, she’s in the box.” Kristen said, turning to get someone else’s attention, before she began a deep dive into victim number three’s personal life.

Maggie and OA both took the short walk to the ‘box’, neither of them really speaking before they walked in.

“Kate, my name is Maggie, this is OA, we’re instigative the attacks of three women,” Maggie began, taking a seat opposite the woman.

“I came to Jubal when I didn’t have to. I gave him my sisters journal, I gave an agent a list of places she could be, and this is what I get?” She asked, gesturing to the room she was in. “I don’t know where she is,”

OA took over. “That’s fine, we will find her eventually. Kate, your sister has been identified as someone we suspect has attacked two women and killed another. She was seen leaving all three of the crime scenes minutes after each attack.”

Kate shook her head. “She’s,” She couldn’t speak for a moment.

“Can we talk about Anna? We know her medical records are sealed – do you think that has something to do with why she may be hurting these women?”

Kate wiped a few tears from her face, “Anna has suffered with everything, or that’s what it feels like, depression, anxiety, PTSD, psychosis, she came off her medication not long ago, and she’s been doing really well – or, I thought she was doing really well,”

OA gave her a moment before speaking up again.

“Can you think of any reason Annabella would have an obsession with lives ruined, or people who she may believe have ruined other’s lives?”

Kate shook her head, “It’s not for me to say. Anna is a good person when she’s having a good day, she’s a good sister and a good aunt. If this is Anna, when she comes out of whatever state she’s in, she’ll be heartbroken that she’s done this.” 

“Is it okay if I show you some images?” Maggie asked, reaching into her pocket for her phone.

Kate nodded, but she didn’t speak as Maggie put her phone in front of her, letting Kate go through the three images of the victims.

“I know Dana, she works here, she’s close to Jubal. The second one, I have no idea, but the third one looks familiar, I may have worked with her.”

OA frowned a little, “You think she’s a teacher?” He referred to Kate’s current profession.

Kate shook her head, “Before going into teaching I was a foster care support worker, gave support to foster and adoptive parents. I was only with the company for two years, just to get experience really, but she looks familiar, I think I may have seen her – I couldn’t give you a name though, sorry.”

Maggie took her phone back, giving Kate a small smile, before looking to OA.

“We’ll be back soon, thank you, Kate.”

\----------

“The Donaldson children are adopted; you think Anna met them through Kate’s work?” Maggie asked.

“But surely it would be about the birth mother or father? Otherwise, why go after Imogen if she saw she was doing a good thing?” OA asked back, both stopping just short of the JOC.

“Say Annabella Ward is who we’re looking for – which is looking more and more likely - where is she meeting these people? Kristen checked, Annabella Ward, Ivan Moore and Hannah MacKay never crossed paths, the only thing that links Dana and Annabella is Jubal.

Maggie nodded in agreement. “That hub we went to, I saw a sign saying volunteers welcome, what if she met Laura Keen’s managers wife there? She knows Dana through Jubal, so we need to question Jubal, and then victim number three, she knows through her sister.”

“Hey,” The conversation was interrupted by Kristen. “Ran a check on victim number three’s kids, her mother is a Charlotte Willis, up until last year, she lived in the Greenwood Health Institution. She committed suicide last year in June when all three of her children were adopted by Imogen and Andrew Donaldson. The couple fostered the eldest child, a son, when he was just a year old, and then took on the other two children in the months after they were born.”

“That’s how Anna knows the Donaldson’s, she must have met Charlotte Willis, and then last year she must have been with her sister when she was working for Imogen and Andrew, connected the dots.”

“Hey,” Maggie turned to Kristen more, “Laura Keen’s manager, the one she had an affair with, can you check out the wife, see is her paths crossed with the community hub Annabella attends. I know it’s a long shot, but,”

“I did a quick background check when Laura Keen was attacked, the manager is a Johnathan Drake, his wife is called Sarah, and she is a licensed therapist, specialising in mental health, so it’s not impossible that she and Annabella Ward crossed paths while she was receiving treatment.”

“Check it out, we’re going to speak to Jubal, see what he can tell us about Annabella, he might be a little less emotionally attached than her sister.” OA filled Kristen in on what they were doing next, before Kristen walked back into JOC and Maggie and OA went to find Jubal.

\----------

“What did you want to speak about?” Jubal asked.

He’d gone back to the hospital while Maggie and OA were in with Kate. He knew no one would let him do anything, and rightly so, but being in the office made him feel useless. At least at the hospital he could try and be helpful.

“How much does Dana know?” Maggie asked.

“At this point, all of it. She knows that Anna is our suspect, she knows you’re talking to Kate. I cleared all of it with Williamson.” Jubal explained.

“Maybe we should speak to both you and Dana – this may concern the both of you.”

Jubal shook his head, “She had her head smashed against a sidewalk this morning, you really think putting her through an interrogation is the best thing for her?” He sighed when he finished speaking, his words came out harsher than intended.

“I’m sorry,” He said to the both of them, hands on his hips, taking a deep breath, before moving away from the door of the hospital room to let Maggie and OA in.

“They want to talk about Anna,” Jubal said when Dana looked up and saw the two agents in her room.

She pushed herself up to a sitting position, giving them a smile. She turned to Eleanor, the teen who had only left her mother’s side a handful of times.

“Can you give us a minute, please?” Dana asked her daughter. “I’ll be fine, I just need you to wait in the hall while I speak to Maggie and OA.”

Eleanor nodded. “I could get you guys some drinks, if you want?” She said as she stood up.

“We’re okay but thank you.” OA said as she walked past them, into the hall, closing the door behind her.

“Is your sister not here?”

Dana shook her head, “She’s got four kids of her own, she needed to be with them. I’m okay, Eleanor is too. Since I am here over night, Eleanor is going to her friend’s house.”

“If she needs a ride, or anything, she has my card. She can call us if she needs us.”

Dana smiled, “She told me. She’s not used to having so many people looking out for her, so, I am thankful that you’re keeping her safe.”

“If you’re up for it, we wanted to ask the both of you some questions.” Dana nodded, turning her head to look at Jubal, who gave her a small smile.

“I think we should start off by coming clean, this may also be something that Kristen needs to hear.” Dana said, causing both Maggie and OA to look at each other in confusion.

“We’ll get her here.” OA said, pulling out his phone.

\----------

Hugs and smiles were exchanged when Kristen saw Dana.

“I heard you came to the scene this morning,”

Kristen nodded, “When we got the call, we all just sort of ran.”

Dana laughed a little, “It’ll be good to put on your form for Quantico.”

Kristen shook her head, “You got beat up and you’re thinking of my career prospects?”

“I’ve been shot, hit, stabbed, knocked unconscious so many times in this job that in the end, it becomes normal – I was stabbed two years ago, it was about time something else happened to me.”

“You wanna let us in on that next time, so we can prepare?” Jubal asked, causing them all to laugh about it.

“Jubal told me where you are with the case, and we think we may know what my connection to Annabella Ward is.” Dana said, her voice changing slightly into a more serious tone.

The agents stayed quiet for a moment, whatever it was couldn’t have been easy to say if it was taking Dana all this time to speak about it.

“Annabella has stints in which she doesn’t fully understand where she is, or what year she’s in, sometimes not knowing who she is or who her family are,” Jubal began, “At first, it wasn’t such a big deal, Anna and Kate’s parents were still alive, she lived with them, had full-time care, but as they got older, it became harder,”

“So, when Anna and Kate’s parents died?” Maggie asked, sensing that was when Annabella’s mental health took a turn.

“For a while she lived with Kate and I, but then Kate got pregnant, we had a kid, it became harder and harder to balance everything. Annabella was never violent with Isaac or Leo, but she’d talk about it, talk about these bad dreams, how people would tell her to do things, and hurt people – in the end, Kate decided to take her to the hospital.”

Kristen tilted her head a little, thinking about what she’d read about Annabella.

“She was moved to the Greenwood Health Institute, it’s an assisted living facility, but they also do research there, therapies and medication. Patients have to consent and have to be mentally able to consent, and Anna was ruled one of them, so she began on medication, which seemed to work, but after seven or eight months it began to have the opposite effect,” Jubal carried on explaining.

“She spends most of her time living in the past.” Jubal clarified.

“How does that connect her to Dana?” OA asked, looking between his two senior agents.

Jubal looked at Dana, silently asking her if they really wanted to do this, already knowing the answer. It wasn’t down to them anymore, this had gone too far – if they were right about why Anna was doing this, Dana was almost at the centre of it.

“We’ve been seeing each other, for the last few months.” Jubal admitted eventually.

Before anyone else could put a word in, Dana began to speak.

“Annabella, when on medication, when getting help is lovely, and gets along fine with me, and Eleanor – but when she’s not, she’s living in a world where she believes Jubal and Kate are still married. After talking about it, we think that’s why Anna came after me,”

“In Anna’s eyes, you ruined Kate’s life by sleeping with her husband?” Maggie asked, shock apparent in her voice.

Dana nodded, “We think so. I’ve met her a few times, I know Jubal’s two boys, Kate knows Eleanor, it would make sense,” 

“So,” OA began, pausing for just a moment to gather his thoughts, “Were would she go from here, isn’t it usually the most personal one last?”

Dana nodded, “Usually, yes. But that could just mean that she’s not finished, and there is someone out there, who hurt her more than I did. She’s getting revenge, she’s trying to do the right thing by people she knows, people she cares about.”

“Her sister, clearly. But, what about the other two victims?” Maggie asked.

“Well, Laura Keen slept with Johnathan Drake, whose wife Sarah supported Annabella at the community hub, she gave her free counselling sessions. Then, Charlotte Willis, I found out, for five months, Charlotte and Anna shared a room, it was in the last five months of her final pregnancy.”

“Her sister, her shrink, her room-mate, these are all people who have helped her or she identifies with, she’s getting revenge for the people who have hurt those she cares about, which may mean all of this is her building up courage and confidence to go after who hurt her.” Dana tried to explain, using all she knew about revenge killers.

“We need to speak to Kate again, we need to find out who may have ruined her life and see who fits that profile.”

A phone pinged, and they all held their breath, expecting bad news.

“Sarah Drake, Anna’s unpaid therapist is in the office, she wants to talk to someone about Annabella Ward and Laura Keen.”

“You two,” Jubal said, point to Maggie and OA, “Go talk to Sarah Drake. Kristen, go back to the office, start compiling a list of people Anna is close to, let’s see if we can find someone who may fit our profile.”

The three began to walk out.

“Hey, about this,” Jubal said, gesturing between himself and Dana.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Maggie said, and for the first time that day, she smiled.

\----------

“They’re going to discharge me first thing tomorrow morning,” Dana told Eleanor as she got her things together. Her friend and her mother had come to pick her up for the night.

“Good, are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” Eleanor asked.

Dana shook her head, “Jubal is going to stay for as long as he can, and if anything happens then then someone will call you, this this is only to be on the safe side, I promise I’ll be okay.”

Eleanor leant down to give her mum a hug, holding on a little longer than she would normally.

“It’ll be okay, Eleanor. I’ve told Julie that you can have whatever you want to eat on the way home, and tomorrow I’ll make pancakes for breakfast.” Sian, Julie’s mum said from the doorway.

There were a few more quick goodbyes, and a few more hugs, before Eleanor left for the night, leaving Dana and Jubal alone.

“I’ve told everyone that after they’ve spoke to Sarah Drake, they all need to go home and get some rest – I’ve asked Kate and the Greenwood facility to keep me informed if Anna shows up, but if she’s spiralling,” Jubal left the sentence there, it was clear she already was spiralling.

“You should go home and get some rest to. I’m fine, but for you this is personal, go home, go take the boys to school tomorrow, speak to Kate,” Dana reached out for Jubal’s hand as she spoke.

“I’m good here, they boys don’t know any of this and me showing up out of the blue to take them to school, it’ll just confuse them. I’ve spoken to Kate, but she’s got Steven,” Jubal gave an answer to all she suggested.

“Besides,” He said, “I don’t want you to be on your own.”

“I live with a fifteen-year-old who I am sure thinks the only three rooms in our house are the bathroom, the kitchen and her bedroom, I am very much used to being on my own.”

Jubal smiled, but still stood his ground. “I’m staying, Dana. You’ve been through a lot,”

“Do you want to lecture me about carrying a gun, and taking time off, or taking some self-defence classes?”

“Is it going to work?”

Dana shrugged. She was happy to just be having this conversation, even if she did hate the fact that she was still in a hospital bed. It was nice to just be able to talk about things without having to keep going back over the attack, that she still couldn’t remember properly.

“I’m going to call Williamson and assistant director tomorrow morning. I’ve been given a clean bill of health from the doctors, I want to be back in the office,”

“Dana,” Jubal said in a tone that was more a warning than anything else.

“Don’t ‘Dana’ me, I will be fine, I’m not running a marathon or taking on a cartel boss, I am just coming back to sit in my office, and observe, putting in what I can when I can.”

Jubal gave her hand a squeeze, “If they let you, I need you to promise me that the moment you feel anything is wrong you tell me so I can take you home,”

“Not that I don’t love you, or the fact that you want to protect me, but I know myself, I know what I can and cannot do, and believe me if I felt like I needed to be at home resting, that’s where I would be.”

“I just want to keep you safe,” Jubal admitted quietly.

“You always did,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of part four?! Should I continue this?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really sure where I am going with this any more, but here is part five anyway! All mistakes are mine and I am sorry. I hope this is half decent at least!

Kristen was just about to give up and go home when a certain file caught her eye. Sarah Drake didn’t have much to say, she was concerned about her own safety. According to her, Annabella was doing well the last time she saw her almost four months ago.

Clicking onto the file, Kristen began reading, skimming through parts of the case file, trying to figure out why it had caught her eye in the first place.

“Hey,” OA’s voice made her look up from the screen.

“Hey,” She replied quickly before turning back to the screen. “Maggie not with you?”

OA nodded, “She’s showing Sarah Drake out. Apparently, she’s six weeks pregnant, when she heard about Laura Keen – who she knew about all along – and then found out that we’d been asking after Anna, she wanted to make sure she wasn’t in any danger. She did manage to give us two other names, people who she mentioned a lot in her therapy sessions.”

Kristen looked up at him again. “Write them down, I can run a check.”

OA nodded, but before he did so, he glanced at Kristen’s computer screen. “Something interesting?”

“Maybe. I was doing some digging into Kate and Annabella, and went into Kate’s personnel file, which then lead me to Jubal’s,” She paused, catching Maggie entering the office out the corner of her eye.

“Kristen may have found something interesting,” OA filled Maggie in quickly.

“What Dana and Jubal said about Annabella living in the past - for the last few years Kate has lived with her new partner Steven Cartwright, which made me think about all that mental health training we had and how people, even with health issues can adjust, anyway,” She paused again pointing to her screen.

“Jubal and Kate’s divorce documents,” Maggie said, shrugging a little not knowing what it had to do with the case.

“They had a son, Leo in 2009 but on his birth certificate Kate put her maiden name, the divorce didn’t finalise until 2010. They’ve been divorced officially for nine years, but ten years ago, just seven months after Leo’s birth Jubal was on temporary assignment in Houston, Texas on the William Barnsley case,”

OA pulled his desk chair over, “I think I remember that from the academy, didn’t he leave all his victim in wooded area’s near schools?”

“Public places, but yes. Jubal worked that case for six months,” Kristen paused with a small triumphant smile on her face at having found something out. “Alongside, Special Agent Dana Mosier, from the BAU. She was there to consult on the case.”

“Right,” Maggie shrugged again, “We all got the feeling Dana and Jubal knew each other, so this just proves they’ve worked together before,”

“But now, look at the divorce documents.” Kristen pulled the page back up so they could both see.

“Living apart and unreasonable behaviour, I mean Jubal was in AA for some of that time, doesn’t seem like a breakthrough to me,” OA put in.

“But adultery does. Kate was the one who stated it.” Maggie said.

Their was a moment of silence all of them sharing the same look of confusion and curiosity.

“Kate Ward called it a friendly divorce, and that she and Jubal were living apart anyway, she found out she was pregnant a few weeks after he moved out, but even so, they were still officially married, so, she had every right to state that.” Kristen explained.

“Wait,” OA, ran a hand over his face. “So, say Dana and Jubal were together for six months while in Texas, Kate puts it down as reasons for a divorce, Annabella supports her through it, then ten years later, she finds out from her sister or her nephews, or Dana and Jubal themselves that they’re in a relationship again – and all of a sudden we have a trigger.” 

Maggie nodded in agreement. “So, Dana was the first target for a reason. Annabella must have been planning this for months – Dana said the appointment today was a last-minute thing.”

“Sarah Drake said that Annabella liked to take pictures. Maybe, if we talk to Kate, get access to Annabella’s room we may find images of other people she may be targeting?” OA suggested.

“Look,” Kristen said, turning around in her chair to face Maggie and OA, “I know this is personal for all of us, but I’ve been thinking, if Dana and Jubal have been seeing each other for a while, why now? They’ve kept it from us, they’ve done their jobs, so outside of work is when they spend most of their time together – why did Annabella wait until now to attack her?”

“Jubal said when she’s on medication she does well, their isn’t an issue, and when she comes off it, well, she’s clearly full of rage, the time between being on medication and coming off it either gave her time to plan these attacks, or the rage started when she was off her medication and found out about Dana and Jubal again, and something else triggered her.” Maggie said.

Kristen had turned back to her desk and was typing in the names that Sarah Drake had given OA – people who Annabella Ward mentioned in some of her therapy sessions.

“Either way, she’s spiralling. She’s not gone back to her room; she’s not called her sister. We have NYPD looking into every other place she would visit, from old homes to the hospitals she was treated at.”

“What about her old school?” Kristen interrupted their conversation, scrolling through the profile of the name she’s researched. “Both of the names are former teachers from a specialist school in Manhattan – a private specialist school at that.”

Maggie checked her watch. “It may have to wait until morning – I mean, I know she’s not in her right mind, but in the space of twelve hours she’s smashed the heads of three women against a sidewalk, chances are she’s crashed somewhere.”

OA gave her a look, causing Maggie to sigh. “Okay, maybe someone like you could attack people and still run a marathon, but unless I missed something, Annabella Ward doesn’t have military training.”

“Neither do I, but if a case calls for it,” Kristen joined in.

“Okay!” Maggie raised her hands in mock surrender. “I could be wrong; she may still be wondering the streets.”

“What are the names of the teachers?” OA asked.

“Will Hayley and Elizabeth Grant. Will Hayley lives with his wife and youngest son on the island, and Elizabeth Grant is currently retired, living in Lexington, South Carolina, she moved their three years ago when she left teaching.”

Kristen ran a hand through her hair, “She’s only attacked woman so far,”

“Jubal told us to interview Sarah Drake and go home – we should do that. Maybe tomorrow morning we speak to Kate, try and get her to connect with Annabella, and maybe we speak to Dana and Jubal about Texas and see if that could have something to do with this.” OA gave his opinion on what to do next.

Admittedly, none of them wanted to go home knowing Annabella Ward was still wondering the streets, but things were becoming tangled up, facts and fiction, they all needed some sleep. Hopefully, it would help them see a little clearer, and they could make some progress tomorrow.

But each other them had the same hope – that they didn’t get that call in the middle of the night.

\----------

The next day didn’t bring anymore good news. Despite no attacks being reported overnight, Kate seemed less than willing to help, and Dana’s presence in the office made things more tense than expected.

“This is on you, you know that?” Kate looked at Jubal as she spoke, the anger clear in her words.

Maggie and OA looked between the two of them – it seemed clear that Jubal wanted to say something back, but he was biting his tongue.

“She’s a good person, she’s not a danger to anyone,”

Jubal couldn’t seem to keep quiet at that statement, “She killed a woman, Kate. She killed a mother on a public pier for adopting three children who needed a family.”

He paused for a moment, looking at his ex-wife, calming himself down before he spoke again.

“I understand that you’re scared, Kate. I get that you don’t want to believe Anna is capable of this – and maybe when she’s on medication she isn’t – but right now, she’s the only suspect we have. We need you to try and get through to her.”

Jubal felt like his words would fall on deaf ears – he wasn’t the person Kate wanted around right now, and if he was being honest, he didn’t know how comfortable he felt being there.

“Kate,” Maggie tried, “This is as much about Anna as it is about these victims, clearly your sister needs help, and to that and stop these attacks, we need to find her.”

“She trusts you,” OA put in before Kate could say anything else, “All we need is a location,”

Admittedly, they needed a lot more than that, but for right now a location would give them a starting point, from there, with all the CCTV in New York the could work backwards to see where she’d been, ruling out potential targets, and move forward tracking where she was heading, hoping to cut her off before she could hurt anyone else.

If she was still hurting people that was.

Jubal’s comment about medication only made the agents realise that Anna was unstable and fragile. If she was still in a state of rage, then she could hurt anyone, but if she’d already come down from that high, she was going to be scared, confused, and potentially covered in evidence.

They didn’t have time for someone to call the tip line, on the off-chance Annabella Ward was wondering around Central Park, covered in blood and crying, because she might also be wondering around Soho, looking for her next victim. They couldn’t risk waiting – Kate was their best shot at finding her.

“What if she doesn’t want to talk?” Kate’s voice was different now – quieter.

It was as if it had dawned on her, as if she’d suddenly realised how serious this was.

“All this equipment,” OA pointed to the table full of what looked like wires and laptops, “is going to trace her location, if you can’t get one from her, all we need is for you to keep her on the line for three minutes so we can get a trace.”

Kate picked up the phone, looking over at her ex-husband. “I know you’re angry because of what happened to Dana, but you know Anna, she’s a good person. Please, please try not to hurt her.”

Jubal could only nod. All the agents in the room knew that promise Kate they’d keep Anna safe wasn’t something they could stick to. If it came down to it, Anna, in their eyes was a danger to herself and the public.

“I think it’s best you leave us to it,” Maggie said quietly to Jubal.

Jubal nodded in agreement – whether he agreed or not, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be there. He didn’t want to do anything that could jeopardise the case – a case that was becoming more and more personal.

“Let me know if you get something, we have SWAT teams on standby.”

\----------

“Hey, Jubal,” Kristen managed to catch up to the ASAC just before he headed into Dana’s office.

“Hey, Kris, what’s up?”

“She’s back then,” Kristen said, a statement with a smile. She admired Dana, wanted to impress her – Dana had said that was unnecessary, that she was impressed with the team from day one, but that didn’t stop Kristen from pushing herself.

“Yeah, the doctor’s cleared her. Which, seemed unreal considering they were throwing around words like ‘brain bleed’ and ‘permanent damage’ this time yesterday.”

Kristen smiled. “Look, I actually wanted to talk to you about something. I’ve been digging around into Annabella, Kate and you – trying to find a connection, one that would make more sense,” Kristen explain, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice.

“A better one than Dana and I seeing each other?” He asked, folding his arms over his chest.

“Annabella, well, she seems to have been planning this for a while. Imogen Donaldson knew Kate a few years ago, the first time Sarah Drake met Anna was in 2011,” Kristen stopped her explaining for a moment.

“We have camera’s in each of the conference rooms, so I went back over your conversation with Kate from yesterday, she mentioned that Anna found an old wedding photograph and was fine, I also spoke to Sarah Drake again and she told me that her obsession with a woman ruining her sister’s marriage started years ago,” Kristen’s voice got quieter as she hoped that Jubal was catching on to what she was saying.

“You want to finish your theory?” Jubal asked.

Kristen took a breath, she’d long learnt that Jubal rarely got angry, and when asking a question like that, there was no hidden intention behind it. No matter how personal it seemed to be, or how much he didn’t like something, he knew his job, and he wanted to help others improve, even if that meant interrogating him, or asking the personal questions.

“The last time Annabella was at Kate’s house was three weeks before the attack, by that point, it’s possibly she was already slipping from a normal state of mind – I spoke to Kate, you and Dana went to see Leo’s school concert together a few days after that, it was the last time you saw Anna.”

“And you think that is what the trigger is, apart from seeing an old wedding photo?” Jubal asked.

Kristen handed him the tablet that she’d been holding.

“These are mine and Kate’s divorce papers, what do they have to do with anything?”

“Kate said you were unfaithful, despite being apart, you were still legally married,”

Jubal nodded, “I know, I was there,”

Kristen reached over to swipe the screen, but before Jubal could read it, she spoke up again.

“I think this has been on Annabella’s mind for years, I think she supported Kate through her divorce, and then I think you introduced her to Dana and she went right back to where she was ten years ago when Kate signed that document.”

“Hey,” Both Kristen and Jubal turned to see Dana waking towards them.

“Hey, we’re just finishing up talking about a theory,” Jubal told her.

“Care to share?” Dana asked.

Kristen looked between them both, she’d spent most of the previous night trying to put the dots together, in a hope she could figure out why Annabella began these attacks, thinking by some miracle it would point them in a clear direction of where shew as heading.

“I think Annabella Ward has been planning this for years – since Kate and Jubal’s divorce. She supported Kate through it, Kate said Jubal was unfaithful, and regardless of the truth behind it, if Annabella believed it, she would have felt rage then and there – over the year’s it’s dissipated, and then, she met you.” Kristen said, the end part directed at Dana.

There was a silence between the three of them, before Jubal looked back down at the table Kristen had given him.

“2009, Houston, Texas. William Barnsley killed seven people, burying their bodies in shallow graves a short distance away from public places, you both worked that case, Jubal was on temporary assignment, Dana you were sent by the BAU – it took five and a half months to close the case.”

Kristen watched the faces of her bosses, the way the looked at each other, before looking away. She felt a presence behind her, glancing over her shoulder to see Maggie and OA a few steps away, listening to the exchange – and for once, she didn’t know if she wanted them to step in or not.

“You and Kate weren’t together, but legally still married – when Kate said you were unfaithful,” Kristen paused, she didn’t want to say anything, she didn’t want to drag the past up, but she firmly believed that this is what started it all.

“You started some kind of relationship in Houston, and Annabella found out who you were, and she sat with the rage for ten years, and then all of a sudden, the woman who she believed ruined her sister’s life walks into a school auditorium as her ex-brother-in-law’s girlfriend,” Again Kristen paused.

She took the tablet back off Jubal.

“I think that’s what triggered Anna and these attacks – and if that’s true, then she could have a whole list of people over the last ten years who she believes have ruined lives.” 

**\----------**

The whole team walked back into the JOC, none of them had any real idea of what was going to happen next.

“Did you two get anything from the phone call?” Jubal turned to Maggie and OA.

OA shook his head, “Annabella openly admitted that she did it – but she firmly believes she did it for Kate. We weren’t able to get a location, nor could we really pinpoint any tells as to where she would go next.”

“Do we have a recording?” Dana asked, speaking up for the first time.

Maggie hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Kate did her best in trying to figure out where she was and tried to ask questions about where she was going, but she seemed more interested in talking about the past, she only really wanted to talk about marriage vows.”

“That could give us something,” Dana said, it was a possible lead, but it didn’t make things any easier.

“Yeah?” OA asked, “Like what? That she’s still unstable?”

“No, that she may be coming out of whatever state she’s been in.” Dana stated simply.

There was a moment of hesitation while Dana tried to get her thoughts in order, and it was clear to everyone in the room that she was still suffering the affects of her attack.

“Sometimes, those in a psychotic state, or those experiencing a high can be easily led. However, Anna is trying to do all she can to keep the focus of the conversation on the topic that started all of this – which means she could be coming, in simple terms, back to reality and she’s trying to justify what she’s done by keeping everyone’s focus on the issue – which to Anna is broken vows, and ruining lives.”

“Kate did say her sister would be heartbroken to find out what she’d done.” Kristen said with an almost sad smile.

“Most killers who kill while high on drugs or who are suffering from mental illness do feel a sense of deep regret and remorse, but Annabella is smart, smart enough to know that she could potentially get away with a plea of insanity, but more than that, she cares about Kate, she did all of this for her, she doesn’t want her sister to see her as a killer, so she’s trying to direct her attention to what she believes is important, and that is people who have ruined other’s lives.”

“Ruined other lives without reason,” Kristen started. “That’s what’s been bothering me – we all know that Annabella is targeting people who have ruined lives, but, I think it might be more than that, and I think if this is right, then it could help us narrow down a list of potential targets.”

Jubal waited a beat, speaking up when Kristen didn’t. “Well, come on, let’s here it.”

Kristen moved over to the closest computer, bringing up photos of the three victims.

“These are our three victims, now, to Annabella, they ruined someone’s life, but as I was going through known acquaintances, I found multiple people who could fit the profile and become a target. These three,” Kristen paused, tapping few more keys, bringing the pictures up onto the screen at the front of the room, along with details. “These three, didn’t have a good reason.”

“Anna said that on the phone, she said something like they had no good reason, I thought it was directed at the victims, but it could also be directed at the people the victims were with.” Maggie put into conversation.

“So, with respect to those in the room,” OA began, glancing over at Dana and Jubal quickly, “the first two victims, in Anna’s eyes slept with married men – neither man had a good reason to sleep with another woman, they had wives. One already had children, the other had a baby on the way.”

“The third, I found after checking medical records, could have children – the Donaldson chose not to.” Kristen said, and the pieces felt, for once, like they were falling into place.

“Why take someone else’s children when you can have your own?” Dana asked the rhetorical question she assumed Annabella Ward was asking, “Why sleep with another woman when you have a wife?”

The room turned to their boss. “If this is what Annabella is doing, then whoever hurt her, whoever she is building the confidence to go after, not only ruined her life but ruined her life and had no good reason to do so.”

“We need to find out who she’s going after, and quickly.” Maggie stated the obvious.

“We also need to be careful, if Anna can’t find who she really wants, the person at the centre of all this rage, she could go on a spree,” Dana paused, turning to look at Jubal, “We also need to know if any of the places she’s been to over the last three months have had weapons stolen, firearms, knives, things like that. She’s still full of rage, but if she really is coming out of a psychotic state or something like that, she may no longer have the energy to attack people physically, and if she’s not done – she’ll move to something that can cause damage.”

“Kristen,” Jubal got her attention first, “We need to narrow down that list of potential targets.”

“You got it,”

“Maggie, OA, we need to know where Anna’s been and if she’s had access to any type of weapon.” Both agents nodded, before turning on their feet back to the office.

“NYPD, we need all CCTV footage, we really need to find out where she went after each kill, so we can try to figure out where she’s going.”

He finally turned to Dana, “You should go and sit down.”

Dana nodded with a smile, “She really thinks I ruined Kate’s life, she thinks I broke up your marriage.”

“She’s unstable, Kate and I were over long before Texas, you know that.”

Dana smiled again; she knew it – but it didn’t make her feel any less guilty. She survived the attack and she knew she had the tools to cope with the aftermath, but the Laura Keen may never be the same, and Imogen Donaldson’s children would now grow up without their mother, why was she the one who got away lightly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you'd like me to continue this :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been a while. I am really close to having all of this written now, so for those of you who are still interested in reading, it should be done in the next week or so! Any mistakes are mine and I am super sorry. I hope this doesn't suck and for those of you waiting for an update, I hope it's worth it.

“Jubal!” Kristen shouted his name as she jogged to catch up with him.

“Where’s the fire?” He asked, a hint of humour in his tone.

Kristen shook her head, “We’ve just got reports of a woman matching Anna’s description carrying a gun inside the Manhattan Mall, Maggie and OA are on their way with SWAT.”

Jubal followed her back to the JOC, only to receive more bad news.

“About twenty minutes ago, three people were admitted to the hospital with gunshot wounds, eye witnesses say a woman in her late thirties to early forties asked them if it was okay to ruin someone else’s life, most people shook their heads thinking it was some kind of experiment,” Lynn, an NYPD officer was telling them.

“Let me guess, the three who got shot either didn’t answer or tried to be clever?” Jubal asked, only getting a nod in return.

“Okay, she’s escalating,” Jubal stated the obvious, “Where’s Dana, we could use her expertise on this,”

“Her office,” Kristen answered his question.

“I’ll get her. We need to get Maggie and OA to Anna’s location as fast as they can and see if anyone on that list of potential targets had any plans to go to the mall today, transactions, CCTV, anything. This could be a spree, or her target could be in there.”

Kristen nodded, watching as Jubal made his way to the door.

Turning back to her computer, she took a breath, she had limited time to see if this was a spree or a targeted attack, and as of that moment three people had already been admitted to hospital, and she knew that it was three people too many.

Kristen waited for just a second before she began typing, turning only slightly she got the attention of one of the other analysts.

“James, we need to cross reference our target list with everyone who has entered the Manhattan Mall today.”

Jubal quickened his pace as he neared Dana’s office, he knew they didn’t have any time to waste. Still his mind was playing catch up. He couldn’t really believe this was all happening, how personal it all was. He loved Kate, he always would, she was the mother of his children, but even he was beginning to find it frustrating. Everything seemed to be going around in circles.

Annabella Ward was unstable, she had her issues and Jubal knew that, but he’d never really seen that side of her, of course, he’d seen the meltdowns, watched her have a one-sided conversation, in which Anna was convinced someone was stood their talking back, but even then, he never thought she’d become a danger to anyone else. Nor did he think he would be part of the reason.

He had enough to deal with, going through a divorce, trying to keep sober, trying to be there for his kids, admittedly, he didn’t have time to worry about his soon to be ex-sister-in-law back then, and he honestly thought Kate had a handle on things.

“Hey,” He said, reaching the doorway.

Dana looked up, a small smile on her face, “Hey, we have a lead?” She asked, and for a moment, Jubal had to remind himself of the last twenty-four hours, and how the thoughts in his head slipped into the dangerous territory of thinking he would lose her.

She looked just like she always did, ready and willing to help.

“We think Annabella Ward is about to go on a shooting spree in the Manhattan Mall – she’s already shot three people, so your theory about her losing energy and coming back to reality may be right.”

Dana sighed, it wasn’t the news any of them wanted, but it was the news she’d have to deal with. Standing up from her desk, she looked back at the file she’d pulled up on her screen.

Annabella Ward’s file.

“We need to know who she’s after, when we know that, we have more chance of opening a dialogue with her.”

**\----------**

Maggie and OA got to the mall in record time, the car journey silent as the pair mentally prepared themselves for various scenarios, none of them particularly pleasant, but it never was when weapons and civilian lives were involved.

“She was last seen on the first floor, near the food courts.” An officer shouted after Maggie and OA, as they headed up the now stationary escalators.

As Maggie approached another officer, she got his attention, “Everyone in this area, get them downstairs and outside as quickly and as quietly as you can – make sure no one runs off and make sure everyone stays together,”

OA gave her a look, “News stations are going to be all over this, which means so is the mayor, the governor and the state senator.”

“This has gone way beyond a psychotic break,” Maggie began, and she and OA made their way towards the food court, eyes darting around, looking at empty shops, stepping over dropped belongings.

“Psychotic break or not, she wants someone dead and she’s not going to stop until she gets them. Whoever it is ruined Anna’s life and she’s determined to get them.”

Maggie sighed, “You’re not kidding.”

Back at the office Kristen was still coming up with a list of names, but so far, they were having no luck. Jubal and Dana were watching both the new coverage from the news crews, but also the body cameras of the officers inside the mall.

“Kristen,” Dana interrupted the tapping of keys. “When you have a minute, can you get me all we have on Anna’s medical history, mainly a list of medication she’s been on,”

Kristen nodded, “Yeah, do you think that could have something to do with it?”

Dana shrugged slightly, “I think whoever this target is, has to be close, and Annabella has spent most of her life surrounded by medical professionals.”

Kristen nodded in agreement, it hurt her slightly to think that someone Anna was supposed to trust could be the reason she ended up spiralling into a murderous rage – if Anna felt like she couldn’t trust doctors, it was more than likely that she felt like she couldn’t trust anyone.

“It’s definitely Annabella Ward.” Jubal’s voice cut through Dana and Kristen conversation.

Everyone turning to look at the screens in front of them. There she was, the image of both Maggie and OA’s bodycams showed Annabella Ward, weapon in one hand, and a teenage girl in the other.

“That’s a kid – she can’t be any older than sixteen,” Kristen said, a level of panic in her voice.

“Tell all teams that we need to try and talk her down before anyone tries to take a shot, we cannot risk hurting civilians,” Dana turned slightly to see Henry Williamson walking towards them.

She wasn’t mad, she knew Henry, and she knew that she was still a liability, having him here, just made everyone more aware of how important it was that they were all at the top of their game.

Back at the scene, both Maggie and OA began to slow down, both hands on their weapons which were raised as they approached a very hostile and fragile suspect.

“Annabella Ward, FBI, drop the weapon, let the girl go.”

“Annabella Ward,” Maggie tried to get her attention, anything to try and change the woman’s focus. “My name is Maggie, I’m with the FBI, I need you to put the gun down and let the girl go.”

Dana was in the office, her head was pounding, but right now this is where her focus needed to be. Something wasn’t right, something about how Annabella was behaving wasn’t right.

She stepped forward to press the mic that lead right to Maggie and OA’s earpieces.

“Maggie, it’s Dana – listen, I know she’s hurt a lot of people, but I need you to be on her side. I need you to really make her feel safe.”

“Is that going to work?” Henry asked.

Dana shrugged unwillingly. “She’s angry and upset, underneath all of that, she feels let down and betrayed, we need to show her that someone is on her side. The main goal is to get her to open up.”

“If we can get her talking, the easier it is to talk her down, and that lowers the risk of casualties.” Jubal summarised.

“Ma’am,” James handed Dana a sheet of paper, “This is a list of the medications Annabella Ward was on, and which doctors prescribed them.”

“Thank you,” Dana said, looking down at the paper, blinking a few times to try and regain her focus.

In the background she could hear Maggie talking to Annabella, a one-sided conversation, anything to get her to open up, while keeping her calm and trying to explain the situation.

Even in the midst of a mental breakdown, being surrounded by armed officers could never be a good thing in the mind of anyone.

“Annabella, I know you’re not a bad person, I know you just wanted to do the right thing deep down.”

“You have no idea!” Dana looked up upon hearing Anna’s voice over the speakers for the first time.

In the mall, Maggie took a step closer, OA copying her actions a few feet to her left.

“So, explain it to me, tell me,” Maggie’s voice was on the verge of pleading, despite the fact she was prepared to be there as long as it took.

That was part of the training, while you’re talking to a suspect, they’re not hurting anyone else. Maggie also pulled from her own experience, how long it took her to trust people, she didn’t expect Annabella Ward to believe her words within the first five minutes of a conversation, especially when she was surrounded by armed police officers.

“They hurt people, they hurt people with no reason, they were cold and cruel,”

“Anna,” Maggie took another step forward. “I know what they did, and I know, I agree with you, it was wrong, but they didn’t know – they didn’t understand that it was wrong they just did what they thought was right,”

“She was selfish!” Anna screamed, the girl in her grasp flinching slightly.

Maggie shook her head, lowering her weapon, “Anna, listen to me, can we talk without the girl? We don’t need her to have this conversation, just look at her,” Maggie gestured to the teen. “She’s not done anything wrong, she’s too little.”

Anna seemed to hesitate, her mind clearly racing.

“Anna, you don’t need her to talk to me, okay. Let her go and we can have a proper conversation, we can talk this through.” Maggie tried again.

“Dana, we could use some help here,” OA said, hoping that Dana could give Maggie some guidance.

“Do we have the girls name?” Dana asked the room, holding back a sigh when no one answered her.

“Maggie, focus on the girl for a moment – let Anna see that you only want to help.”

Maggie took another step forward, “Anna, do you know this girl? Do you know her name?”

Anna shook her head, the gun still dangerously close to a minor.

“Can I ask her?” Maggie waited for Anna to give her some indication, before she did as Dana said, changing her focus to the teenager, who in Maggie’s opinion was holding it together really well. “What your name, sweetheart?”

“Chloe,”

“Chloe, my names Maggie. I just want you to know that we’re going to try and figure this out. Annabella, here, she’s just got some things going on, but I’m going to listen to her, okay? I’m going to listen, and I’m going to try and help her out.”

Chloe nodded a little, tears still streaming down her face – scared out of her mind, not envisioning that a day at the mall would turn into this.

Maggie could only hope that it would work, she glanced over at OA, giving him a small nod before she spoke up again, this time, hoping they could get Chloe out of this situation.

“Anna, this is my partner, OA,” Maggie pointed, and OA slowly lowered his weapon. “would it be okay if he took Chloe to the officers behind me?”

“OA, when you approach, you need to make sure Anna is in control of everything, slow movement, try to get Chloe to walk if you can, remember that Anna is still unstable, she’s still armed and Chloe is still in the line of fire.” Jubal spoke, his words coming through in Maggie and OA’s earpieces.

Maggie watched as Annabella’s line of sight changed to one of the armed officers behind her, a sudden fear rising in her as she saw Anna’s arm tighten around Chloe.

“You’ll shoot me, once she’s gone, I’m dead.” Anna shook her head as she spoke, her voice raising again as she tightened her grip on Chloe.

“Anna,” Maggie shouted above Anna’s panic, but she was too late, as she took a step forward the trigger had been pulled.

Before Maggie’s eye’s Chloe fell to the floor and Annabella began running, shots being fired every few seconds, hitting the floor and walls of the mall as Annabella Ward ran for her life – scared she would die before finishing what she’d set out to do.

Maggie and OA, kept low, both of them checking on Chloe before OA led a team of officers to follow Annabella, knowing that she really was now armed and dangerous.

“Kristen,” Jubal said back in the JOC, “get air support – try to follow her if she leaves the mall.”

“Maggie, give me an update on that kid,”

Maggie could hear Jubal’s voice but for a moment she was too busy checking Chloe over for wounds, a lump forming in her throat when she found on.

“She’s been hit in the side, actively bleeding, I need a medic!” Maggie shouted the last bit, hoping someone would hear her.

“Hang on in there, Chloe.” Maggie tried to remain calm. “You did really good, okay, and I’m going to get you some help.”

In the JOC no one moved, the only sound that could be heard was Kristen’s typing and the sound coming from Maggie and OA’s live feed.

“Where’s she going?” Henry asked quietly, looking at Dana for an answer.

Dana, who’d been looking over Annabella’s file and list of medication, felt at a loss. She wanted to give then some kind of answer, she wanted something to jump out at her, but they had exhausted everything, the names Kate had given them, the people Kristen had dragged up from the past, the only thing missing was a few doctors who’d seen Annabella over the years – none of it made any sense, logically, she had nowhere to go.

Dana looked between Henry and the screens, now showing an aerial view of the city from the helicopter.

Shaking her head, she opened her mouth to speak. “I don’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking with me - would you like to see the final few chapters? I know I said my aim was to make the chapters longer and more intense, but I think I have failed, which is probably what happens when you don't sit down and plan your work fully! I hope this was worth the wait, and if not, then I'm sorry.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The words were there, clear as day. Kate Ward’s signature had just become the lead they’d been searching for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I am now fully convinced this piece has gone downhill, so I want to thank everyone who is still reading. I think this should have around nine chapters, maybe ten if I get carried away! Sorry for any mistakes, they're all mine.

Maggie took a seat next to Kristen. “Chloe, is Chloe Maxwell, sixteen, lives in the city with her mother, father and three brothers.” Kristen informed her.

“I met her father at the hospital, they took Chloe in for surgery, but the doctors think she’s going to make it, I told them to call me if they had any questions or wanted to talk.”

Kristen nodded a little, “Not every day your kid gets taken hostage and shot.”

“Have you seen Dana anywhere?”

Kirsten shook her head, “Think she went to get some fresh air. But she might be in her office with Williamson and Jubal.”

“Thanks, I’ll check in with you later.”

Maggie began to walk through the building, heading to the exit via Dana’s office to try and find her. She knew that right now everyone had more questions than answers, the main one she thought Dana would have was ‘how is Chloe?’ which she was thankful she had an answer for.

It could be a while before the teen ever entered a local mall again, but at least she was alive, and the doctors believed she would make a full recovery.

OA was still out with agents searching for Annabella Ward, a suspect who was now not to be approached as she was armed and extremely dangerous. Maggie would join him later, but she needed to speak to Dana, she needed to make sense of this, if that was even a possibility.

As she got to the elevators, she smiled, catching up with Dana as she headed towards to small kitchen area.

“Dana,” Maggie said when she was next to the older woman – not wanting to scare her or cause her to make any sudden movements.

“Maggie, are you okay?”

Maggie nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I’m frustrated we couldn’t get Anna, but I’m okay, and Chloe, the teen, doctors think she’s going to make a full recovery.”

Dana let out a sigh of relief. “Good, and OA is still out on the streets?” She asked as they carried on walking.

“Yeah, I’m going to join him, but I had a few questions first.”

Dana nodded, reaching for an empty mug to make herself a drink, giving Maggie the all clear to go ahead with whatever questions she had.

“Well, maybe it’s just one question and a theory, but,” Maggie paused, “have we completely ruled out family?”

“Not completely, but really, she only has her sister Kate. We’re focusing more on medical professionals, she may have seen them as some kind of extended family – especially if one doctor saw her for a long period of time, or through a significant life event.” Dana explained.

Maggie thought for a moment, “Something’s been bothering me, about what Annabella said at the mall.”

She waited until Dana was looking at her, before she began talking again – admittedly, she needed a moment to get her own thoughts in order, cases often got to agents, it was a part of the job, but Maggie had a feeling this would affect the team on a new level.

“Annabella said ‘she’, before she was using ‘they’ and if we’re under the impression she was talking about her victims, that would makes sense, but the use of the term ‘she’ it’s like for a split second that was Annabella trying to tell us what was really going on.”

Dana smiled a little, “I noticed, even the wording, ‘she was selfish’ it’s past tense, so for Annabella this is something that’s been building up for a while, it’s about a past event. I’m glad you brought it up,”

Maggie wanted to smile at the praise, but it wasn’t the time or the place.

“Are you sure you don’t want one of us to drive you home?” Maggie asked without really thinking about it.

Dana shook her head. “I’ll go when you guys go. But thank you for the concern.”

The pair began to walk out of the small breakroom, heading back to the JOC when Henry and Jubal caught up with them.

“Kristen thinks she’s found something.” Jubal informed them, as the two men fell in step with the two women.

Jubal placed his hand on the small of Dana’s back for a few moments, if anything just to reassure himself that she was still there.

“Maggie, you should go and join OA, help with the search, if we get any leads we can call you.” Dana said.

“Jubal, maybe try speaking to Kate again, see if there is anywhere Annabella would go?” Henry added, “Dana and I can speak to Kristen.”

Maggie and Jubal nodded at their orders, before Maggie walked ahead of them, and Jubal gently took Dana’s arm.

“Henry, I’ll catch up with you,” She looked at the agent, who glanced at Jubal before nodding and leaving them alone in the hall.

“I know that we don’t do this whole personal thing at work, but I need you to tell me you’re still okay.” Jubal said with a hint of humour in his tone.

Dana blushed a little at how much he cared.

“I have the headache from hell, Eleanor is angry that I came to work, and Annabella Ward almost killed a teenager not much older than my own – I’m not okay, but I am here, and I want to be here to see this through.”

Jubal shook his head. “You’re taking time off after this,”

“I thought it was me who gave the orders around here?” She asked quickly with a sweet smile.

Jubal gave her a look before pulling her into a hug, holding her close for a moment. “I just want to make sure you’re okay. I care about you too much not to ask.” He whispered.

“I know,” She said back, her voice equally as quiet. “but now that you know I am okay; we have a job to do.” 

Jubal let go, kissing her forehead lightly, before he finally turned on his heels, heading to get his jacket before he paid a visit to his ex-wife in a hope they could move forward with the investigation.

\----------

“Can you fill Dana in please?” Dana heard Henry ask Kristen as she entered the JOC.

Dana gave her a small smile, coming to stand behind the analyst.

“Meet Doctor Michael Alexander, MD from John Hopkins, specialist in psychiatric care. He has received multiple awards from the American Psychiatric Association, and has been a regular guest within congress arguing for the FDA to stop banning drugs that are proven to work – according to Dr Alexander a drug working in 50% of cases should be kept on the market.” Kristen explained.

“When did he cross paths with Annabella?” Dana asked, taking a seat next to Kristen.

“When her sister Kate was at university.” Kristen paused, pulling up a new file on screen, “Now, Kate Ward is a teacher, she got her degree from Penn State, but she enrolled there when she was 21, before that she started a degree in paediatric emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins, she dropped out after her father had a heart attack to help her parents. Kate and Michael were classmates for the first two terms.” Kristen pulled up an image from the university’s archives.

Dana sighed. “I’m beginning to think this has more to do with Kate Ward than any of us want to admit.”

“Dr Alexander was Annabella’s lead doctor for six years, he stopped seeing her after another family sued Dr Alexander for negligence, for prescribing another patient the same drug that Annabella was on – the patient, who had been cleared for discharge took his own life, the family filed a lawsuit after finding out the FDA was reviewing the drug and was leaning towards finding it harmful.”

Henry pointed to the screen. “Is Annabella on this medication now?”

“No.” Kristen answered. “well, not as far as we know, the medication was deemed unsafe, and another doctor, Dr George Thompson attempted to slowly reduce her dose, instead of pulling her off it suddenly to avoid Anna having any major withdrawal symptoms, but according to pharmacy records, a day after the lawsuit Kate Ward brought a large supply, we’re still trying to clarify how much.”

Henry gave Kristen a look. “You’re telling me that Dana, Laura Keen, Chloe Maxwell got attacked and Imogen Donaldson was murdered because Kate Ward was medicating her own sister?”

“Dr Alexander gave her those drugs, and I am willing to bet if we go back far enough we will find out that Kate went to him for advice after the lawsuit – he probably told her to keep medicating Annabella, somehow Annabella found out, or maybe ever faked taking the medication and now, she want’s revenge, but depending on when she stopped taking the medication, and the other drugs she’s taking – the psychosis is very real.”

Kristen listed to Dana as she explained before holding her hands up a little. “The two biggest side affects of this drug are memory loss and paranoia, and another side affect is mood swings.”

“So, what about you and Laura and Imogen, why didn’t she just go after Kate in the first place?” Kristen continued.

“Timing, and also if Annabella isn’t stable it’s possible that she’s fighting with herself, the rage towards Dana is real, the rage towards Laura and Imogen was real, but when Annabella is medicated, it’s just a passing angry moment – chances are she planned to go after Kate, but that early in the morning Kate was probably either taking the kids to school or had gone to work,”

“So,” Kristen interrupted, “when she couldn’t find the source of all this, she went after substitutes.”

Dana sighed. “Kate ruined her life, I ruined Kate’s life, Laura Keen slept with her therapists husband, Imogen Donaldson adopted the children of her roommate – she wanted to take her anger out on someone, she probably felt the only thing she could do was come after us.”

Kristen turned back to the screen, a part of her wishing that she’d never asked. When it was put like that, she felt a sudden frustration go through her.

“All because of what, some shrink?”

Henry paced a little, “Annabella may not have been a willing participant. We’ve seen it before?” He suggested.

“Kristen, call Maggie and OA, have them pay Dr Alexander a visit.”

Kristen nodded, “According to his file, he runs a private practice in the city.”

“Parents keep medicating their kids, thinking it’s the right thing. In this case, Kate keeps medicating her sister thinking the drugs will make everything better, but if Anna wasn’t a willing participant then, that’s a lot of trauma, and medication – especially medication for mental health, when misused the consequences are never pretty.” Dana mused out loud.

“We need to dig deeper into Annabella’s records, see if she ever refused medication. Is Jubal with Kate?”

Dana nodded, “I think so. But I don’t think telling him would be the best idea – I trust Jubal, but this is too close to home for him. If we’re going to interview Kate, then,” Dana shrugged, she didn’t know who should do it – anyone but the ASAC.

“You should do it. It’s your theory, you should speak to Kate.” Henry concluded, before walking out of the JOC, giving Dana no time to give an answer. 

Kristen looked at Dana, not wanting to laugh at the look of shock on her face. “He does have a point – plus, your time with the BAU means you understand more than most of us do.”

Dana smiled, “I appreciate the flattery, but forgive me if I am not really up for that conversation. I don’t think it will be as cut and dry as Kate wanting to help Anna.”

Kristen shrugged, “When are the cases we work ever simple?”

“The BAU is a fine department, but nothing is ever simple, and you are always on your toes. You begin to understand that sometimes anger is a stronger emotion than love, and to never underestimate the ability of someone who struggles with reality.”

“Do you think Kate had another motive then?” Kristen turned to face her boss fully.

Dana shrugged, thinking a moment before speaking. “I think deep down it could be as simple as ‘the meds worked when she was a kid so surely they’ll work now,’ but Kate is a grown up, she’s been married, she’s got children, went through a divorce, changed jobs, moved house, all of these things can come with a degree of trauma and stress, some of it may be down to the fact that medicating Anna was the easy thing to do, but it could also be that she did it for other reasons.”

Kristen shook her head, not sure if she wanted to ask or not. “What other reason would you do it for?”

“The good reasons, like love, safety, and because you know they’d be safer on medication and in a facility rather than at home, but then you have the not so good reasons, money, power, I worked a case once where a grandmother drugged her grandson, making him ill, just so he wasn’t able to leave the house, her biggest fear was that when he was gone, she would have no one else to talk to.”

Kristen turned back to her computer. “Anna killed a woman and injured three others because her sister met a doctor with a god complex.”

Dana sighed, “If only it was that simple. Let me know when Maggie and OA have found the good doctor, and let me know when Jubal gets back, I think he needs to know about Kate.”

Kristen nodded, it wouldn’t be an easy conversation – but so far, all Kate had done is tried to act in the best interest of her sister, the analyst hoped it would remain that way.

**\----------**

“Receptionist said that he didn’t come in this morning, his wife isn’t well.” OA informed Maggie as he walked into Dr Alexander’s office.

A space which was clinically white, a desk that was gold and glass, framed awards and degrees lined the walls, bookshelves full of medical encyclopaedias and filing cabinets which the agents assumed would be locked.

“We should call Dana or Henry, ask for a warrant, Annabella Ward might have a file.” OA said pointing to cabinets.

“Call them, I’m going to try and have Kristen track his cell – guy doesn’t seem like doctor of the year, but Annabella might be trying to find him, and while he may be a general asshole for what he’s done, I don’t think his wife and kids are.” Maggie nodded towards the family picture of the windowsill.

That was always the trouble with these cases – men and woman who do horrible thing, with spouses and children who are none the wiser, yet end up being put in the middle.

“So, let me get this right,” OA said after he made the call. “Annabella’s parents die, Kate takes over, and brings get to see her old university buddy, Michael, he takes on Anna’s case, prescribes her medication, things go wrong in his life, but he still has his MD, so advises Kate to keep medicating Anna even after another doctor has said not to – Annabella somehow finds out plans to get revenge on her sister for ruining her life, but something stops her so she goes after substitutes?”

Maggie opened her mouth, but closed it again, nodded a little. “Something like that. Kate and Dr Alexander should be our main priorities, Jubal is with Kate, we should find Anna.”

“You good to stay here, I’ll check out the rest of the building?” OA asked. “We should have a warrant emailed over in the next five minutes,”

“Yeah, just be careful, if Anna’s here, she’s going to be,” Maggie let the sentence drop, OA knew what she meant.

Another ten minutes of looking around, Maggie didn’t know what to think, from the images in the room and comments from staff, Michael Alexander was a good guy, brilliant doctor, and loving husband and father – if only they knew that he could be the reason for the death of a woman.

“Agent Bell, we’ve got the warrant,” another agent told her, before looking at the secretary. “Ma’am, can you open these filing cabinets please?”

Silence filled the room as files were pulled out and gone through, Maggie feeling almost relieved when she found Annabella’s file, despite all the heartache that could be in it. Opening it, she scanned the first few pages, basic information, list of conditions, medications, next of kin, therapies, things that Kristen had already dug up.

Flicking through some more pages Maggie felt nauseous reading the words printed on a page. “OA,” She spoke into the mouthpiece attached to her vest.

“Yeah, Maggie,”

She closed her eyes briefly, “Annabella Ward didn’t want to take that medication – she was deemed not competent to make her own medical decisions, but that’s not all,” she paused. “The medication she was on was being investigated by the FDA, but before that, she was placed on seven other types of medication,”

“Is it possible that some of them just didn’t work?”

“They weren’t on the market, OA. Annabella Ward was used as a test subject, this wasn’t to help her, they were using her for drug trials and Kate agreed to it.”

The words were there, clear as day. Kate Ward’s signature had just become the lead they’d been searching for.

“Kristen said the drugs main side affects were paranoia and memory loss, when Annabella finally understood that it was all being caused by her own sister, and then to let that rage build up, I think it’s safe to say we know who Anna’s going after.”

“Maybe not.” OA’s voice came through her earpiece.

“Maybe not?” Maggie questioned.

“From that office can you see the parking structure?”

Maggie frowned at the odd question but turned to look out of the floor to ceiling windows at the parking structure diagonal to where she stood. “Yeah, why?”

“Because the woman sitting on top of it looks a hell of a lot like our suspect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it worth me finishing or is this getting too boring or too out there? I would love to know your thoughts!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I believe that sometimes, people do the wrong things for the right reasons.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're near the end! Thank you for sticking around, I'm hoping that it's been worth it. Any and all mistakes are my own - I did all the research I could on criminal charges, some I understood, some I didn't, so I have done my best and I hope it all still makes sense!

“She did all of this to make Kate notice,” Dana said, looking between Kristen and the screen that was currently showing Annabella Ward’s final act.

She was at the top of the multi-storey carpark, and clearly, she wanted to take the quick way down.

“That’s who this is all about, it’s about Kate.” Dana whispered in defeat, first because it had taken her this long to figure it out, but also out of heartbreak because Kate was the only person Annabella had left.

“I checked bank records as well, money went into Kate Ward’s account at the end of every six-month period, it lines up with when Annabella was taking the new drugs.” James informed them.

“Lynn,” Dana turned to look at the NYPD officer, “I need an arrest warrant for Kate Ward for taking part in multiple illegal drug trials and taking the money she was offered.”

“All we need now is to get Annabella off that ledge.”

“Annabella,” OA said, taking a step forward, holstering his weapon, “all I want to do is talk to you.”

Dana ran a hand through her hair, again trying to ignore the pounding her head and the nausea rising in her throat.

“Tell her that we know about Dr Michael Alexander.” Dana spoke to OA through his earpiece.

“Annabella, I know about Dr Alexander. I know what he did to you, and I know it wasn’t right.” OA took another step forward; he knew any second now Maggie would be joining him after clearing the rest of the parking structure.

He could see the tears streaming down Anna’s face and for the first time he felt sorry for her. The only thing the woman wanted was closure, was for someone to believe her.

“I know that Kate gave Dr Alexander the all clear to give you that medication and I know that no one asked you your opinion. I know that you felt you had no one to turn to.”

Dana felt a pain in her chest at the realisation that her attack, and the murder of another woman were down to a sister trying to do the right thing. She didn’t want to know what Kate was thinking, only because it could have been planned. The more drugs you give someone, the more symptoms they have, the more unstable they become, the more likely they are to be put into care, to be placed in a facility. The honest truth being that the worse they become, the more likely it is that they’re no longer your problem.

“She wanted to get rid of me.” Annabella’s voice was broken, strained, and no one listening could blame her.

“You need help, Annabella, everyone can see that. You need help from professional’s who are going to listen to you, who have your best interests at heart – this isn’t the way to get that.” OA told her, trying to keep his voice level.

“OA,” Dana’s voice came through his earpiece, “ask Annabella if she wants to tell you about it, she was close to telling Maggie, she might tell you.”

“Can we talk, Annabella? I’m here to listen, all I want is for this to end the right way.”

OA took another step forward, contemplating standing on the edge himself. He knew it would be a bold move, one that everyone would berate him for later, but if it was going to get justice for Anna’s victims, and even get her some help, then he needed to do it.

“You don’t get it,”

“No,” OA shook his head, now next to the railings. “No, I don’t. But I will listen to you while you tell me. I know that this isn’t all your fault, I know that you didn’t want that medication, that you told your sister that, that you begged Dr Alexander not to give it to you.”

“I’ve hurt people!” Anna sounded more shocked than anything else. “I, I hurt people who, who I knew, who didn’t deserve to be hurt!”

“OA,” It was Dana’s voice again. “She’s beginning to see what she’s done, I think right now you might be seeing the real Annabella Ward, you need to be really careful, you need to give her as much time and space as she needs – your main aim is to get her off that ledge.”

OA took a moment to compose himself before looking down over the ledge of the structure, “I’m going to climb over the railing, okay, Anna? We can stand here together, and we can talk this through.”

He tried to ignore his heart pounding as he climbed carefully over the safety railings.

“Dr Alexander said the different drugs would help me.” Anna only glanced at OA as he stood next to her.

OA nodded, “My partner, Maggie, who you spoke to at the mall, she’s got the file,” OA inched a little closer, keeping a tight grip on the railing to stop himself from plummeting towards a certain death. “We’re going to arrest Dr Alexander for what he did, for medicating you without your consent, for making you ill, for lying, but I need you to help me do that, I need you to tell the world what he did.”

“I hurt people – no one cares what I say, they’re going to think I am just as bad as he is.”

“I can’t tell you that you’re not right, but I can tell you that I want you to get help,”

“I’m never going to be forgiven for this,” Anna sobbed next to him.

Dana watched the screen, she could feel other people watching too, and for once actually wished Jubal was stood next to her.

“OA,” Dana spoke up, much to her own surprise. “If it’s safe to do so I need you to hand Annabella your phone and I need you to connect it to the JOC.”

“You’re going to try and talk her down?” Henry asked.

Dana nodded, “I can’t guarantee that Alexander will go to trail, I can’t guarantee that Anna won’t be charged as a competent adult, I can’t tell her either way what will happen to Kate, but I can tell her that I forgive her for what she did.”

“Annabella, I want you to talk to someone, okay?” Dana heard OA say – and knowing that was her sign to speak, so pushed her hair out of her face and took a deep breath.

“Annabella, my name is Dana,” Dana didn’t really know how to introduce herself, ‘hi, I’m the woman you attacked yesterday’ didn’t seem appropriate. “We met a while ago at Leo’s school concert.”

“Annabella,” Dana began again, she knew from the image on screen that Annabella could hear her. “I know this must be really confusing for you. I can’t even begin to imagine all the emotions you’re feeling right now – but I do know that, there are people who are ready and willing to help you.”

She could see movement, the way Anna seemed to look between the drop from the ledge she was stood on, to OA, and then to the sky, Dana shook her head a little, it was hard enough to deal with multiple emotions at once, but to deal with emotions, know that you’ve hurt people and to be stood god only knew how high in the air, wanting to take that leap – she couldn’t blame Annabella for taking a moment to answer her.

“You’re okay?” Annabella’s voice was quiet, but Dana could just make it out.

“Yes, and I want both you and Agent Zidan to be okay as well, and that’s why I think both of you need to come off that ledge so we can talk.”

OA kept a tight grip on the railing behind him with one hand, holding his phone with the other. Of course, the first thing he thought about as he was climbing over the railing to show Anna that she could trust him, was what he would do if she decided to end it all – he would try to grab her and hope for the best, the second thought was what on earth he could say to a suicidal murderer who was still very unstable that was going to convince her that her life would be worth living, and the third, was that he was almost certain Maggie was going to kill him for doing something this reckless.

“I’m so sorry, I, I wish I could take it all back, I got so angry,”

“I know,” Dana interrupted, “I know that, Annabella. Why don’t you come back over the railings so we can talk properly? You can tell me what you were thinking, and we can try and get you some help, going forward.”

“Going forward?” Despite the anger she probably felt, Annabella sounded more defeated. “I’m going to prison, Dana.”

Dana closed her eyes for a moment, looked at Henry for some kind of support or guidance.

“I won’t lie to you, Anna. I think we all know that you will do some time, in prison or in a secure facility, I will do all I can to ensure it’s some kind of hospital, where you are supported and respected, and I will also do all I can to ensure that Dr Michael Alexander is prosecuted to the full extent of the law for what he’s done to you.”

Dana could feel herself clutching at straws, but she didn’t know how else this could have gone. She needed her agent off that ledge, his safety came above all to her.

“Annabella, I trust Dana with my life,” OA spoke up. “I know that she’s not lying, and I promise you, she will do all she can to make sure you’re in the right place. I can see you didn’t mean to hurt those people, and I think Dana knows that as well.”

“Annabella, I forgive you. I know that you were going through something horrible, and you couldn’t find a way out of it, and so you resorted to violence, but I know that’s not the real you. I hear stories all the time, from Isaac and Leo, and they tell me how much fun you are, and how kind you are – and I don’t think either of them would lie, do you?”

Annabella shook her head.

“Anna let’s just go over to the other side, and we can talk,” OA said gently, balancing the phone on the railing, before holding out his hand for Annabella to take.

Dana felt Kristen reach for her hand as the scene unfolded before them.

OA was trying, and everyone else was certain that it was all going to be okay, they’d done it, they’d caught her, and they’d ended up saving her – but that’s not how it played out.

“I don’t deserve it – I ruined their lives,” The sentence itself made Dana’s blood run cold as she watched Annabella Ward’s body slowly slip out of view as OA’s body cam only caught an image of the streets below before it seemed to focus again.

Dana heard a sharp intake of breath from those around her before she heard OA shouting for help.

He’d grabbed her arm.

Kristen began typing and clicking on things before an aerial view from the helicopter was put up on screen, and there, on the side of the multi-storey parking structure was an FBI agent clinging to the railing with one hand, and pulling up a woman, so intent on dying in the other.

A wider shot saw agents hanging over the railing, doing all they could to bring Annabella back over to safety, and it was only when they did – only when the body cams and the feed from the helicopter showed Annabella being arrested with her agents safe did Dana let out a breath.

“It’s over, Dana.” Henry told her quietly.

All the SAC could do was nod. She didn’t know what to say, do, or even think, the pounding in her chest was worse than her head, and the fear she’s just felt was worse than that she’d felt the day before at the hospital.

“Let me know when Maggie and OA are back,” Was all she managed before she walked out of the JOC, holding herself together long enough to make it to the ladies’ bathroom before she finally let herself breakdown for a moment.

OA, back on top of that parking structure, watched as some other agent restrained Annabella Ward. He could hear her sobbing and screaming as they tried to get her to stand up. He was sat down, trying to catch his breath, trying to process as quickly as he could.

“OA,” Maggie was next to him, “hey, you doing okay?”

He nodded a little, pushing himself up, nodding at her again, this time a little more convincingly.

“I’m okay, Mags.” But he knew that wasn’t enough, he could see the fear and anger on her face.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” Her voice was raised slightly, and he could hear the tears before he saw them, but her words would hang in the air because he had no answer for her – he didn’t know what he was thinking, if he was being honest, he wasn’t really thinking at all.

It was instinct, but instinct was what scared her the last time.

\----------

Dana gave Jubal a hug when she next saw him. Her emotional conversation with Anna left her wanting the comforting physical contact.

“Hey, I heard what happened with Anna. But OA and Maggie are safe?” Dana nodded – she didn’t have the energy to relive that just yet.

“Can we talk in my office for a moment, please?”

Jubal frowned, “Sure, what’s going on, Dana?”

Dana stayed silence as the pair walked the short distance to her office, and Dana felt a sudden anxiety wash over her when Jubal pointed out something must have been seriously wrong for her to close the door and sit next to him on the couch instead of at her desk.

“We found out that Annabella Ward was an unwilling participant in multiple drug trails – she was considered not competent,” Dana began, her voice quiet and slow as if she was talking to a victim, or relatives of one, which in her mind she was but she would never say it out loud.

“Okay, so the doctor who put her through that is going to be arrested, right?”

Dana nodded, “We’ve picked him up from his home, and he’s been brought back here for questioning, but,” Dana paused, reaching over to take Jubal’s hand in a hope it would be comforting.

“Dana,” Jubal spoke before she could, almost prompting.

“It was Kate who stated Anna was not competent to make her own medical decision, and it was Kate who received large pay outs for having Anna participate in the drug trails. She’s been arrested, and the DA want’s to charge her for her participation in an illegal drug trail,” She hesitated, squeezing his hand a little, “he also wants to charge her with assisting an offender for the assault of a federal agent, and two civilian, plus the murder of Imogen Donaldson.”

Jubal shook his head almost immediately. “Kate wouldn’t do that, she’s a good person, I know her,”

Dana nodded a little, “I’m so sorry,”

“Illegal drug trial, assisting, I mean, she’ll do time, right?” He asked, not hearing her apology.

“I don’t know any more than that right now, Henry is dealing with the legal side of the case from this point forward, we’ll know more once we’ve interview all three of them.”

Jubal put his head in his hands, and suddenly Dana felt like the bad guy. Putting her hand on his back, she wondered how else she could make this better, how else she could fix it, but the truth was, it was already done. She couldn’t see anyway that any of it would change.

“Annabella was just a kid with anxiety, and now she’s a killer.” Jubal stated, feeling slightly sick at the thought.

“I’ve recommended she be placed in a psychiatric hospital rather than a prison; I think the DA is looking at going with an insanity plea. She came out of it, and I fully believe it was Annabella on that ledge, but she needs help, not a six by four cell.” Dana tried to reassure him.

They sat in silence for a moment, and Jubal tried to wrap his head around things. Still, he couldn’t quite believe that not even a week ago, he was wondering if the woman who’d just talked down a killer would ever wake up, and now he was thinking about his ex-wife taking illegal money and how it would impact his boys.

“Is Kate here?” He asked, finally.

Dana nodded, “Yeah, she’s waiting in the box. The boys are still at school, I didn’t know how you wanted to handle that, but I’ve spoken to Steven and he has said he will pick the boys up and take them home if you wanted to stick to a routine.”

Jubal shook his head, “What’s Steven say about all this?”

“I’m not sure, I haven’t heard anything. I think he’s very much in denial about it all.”

“If Kate does time for this, I, what do I do about the boys? I mean, I’d have to go to court, or,” Jubal felt his head spinning as he thought about his ex-wife going to prison, as well as his ex-sister-in-law. It was a lot of him to process, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like for his ten and twelve-year-old to process.

“You’re their father, you’ll get custody and then they’ll stay with us. I mean, my house is big enough to you and them, and we’ll just have to take things slowly and try to support them best we can.”

Jubal looked confused for a moment, “I didn’t think you wanted to rush this?”

Dana smiled a little, feeling a lump forming in her throat. “I didn’t, but then I had my head smashed against a pavement and heard a doctor talk about brain bleeds and nerve damage, and at the risk of sounding too cheesy – life’s too short. We need each other, and the boys need you, so, why not?”

Jubal pulled Dana into a hug. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

Dana laughed against his shoulder, before pulling back a little. “You should stay here and try to make some arrangements, but,” she hesitated, and tried to smile, “but I have to go and interview Kate.”

Jubal took a moment, watching Dana get up and head for the door.

“Do you really think Kate did this to get rid of her sister?” He couldn’t stop himself from asking, and he hoped that Dana would at least try to be honest with him, even if she thought it would be easier to lie.

Dana toyed with her sleeve for a moment, she shook her head a little, admitting to herself that she didn’t really know what to think.

“I believe that sometimes, people do the wrong things for the right reasons.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to know your thoughts and if you would like me to continue this :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I forgot, and keep forgetting to say it, but thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished this! I also do not blame anyone who stopped reading because it was too long to wait between chapters! Thank you to everyone who did though. I hope this was worth it and it's not the worst final chapter ever. All mistakes are mine and I am sorry.

Dana couldn’t remember the last time her heart was pounding this hard as she walked into an interrogation room. Even as she sat down, she felt uneasy, like she shouldn’t have been there, like she should have been on the other side of the wall watching the computer screen quietly, making mental notes and assessments.

“Kate,” Dana said quietly, “you do know you’re entitled to a lawyer,”

Kate nodded, “He should be here in a minute.”

Dana nodded, staying silent.

In the five minutes it took for Kate’s lawyer to arrive, Dana convinced herself she was about to throw up at least twice. Kate had asked her once how she was feeling – if her head hurt, Dana had only smiled and told the woman she was fine.

It was painful, painful to sit in that box with a woman who she’d heard stories about, the woman who raised the children she saw most weekends, who baked with her kids, made costumes out of old sheets for world book day. Her lover’s ex-wife, who would potentially go to jail, for reason’s that Dana was still trying to wrap her head around.

“My client would like to explain her side of the story before you start with any questions, Agent Mosier.”

Dana didn’t have any objections, at the end of it all that was why they were here – to see why Kate did what she did, if the team was right, if she did anything at all.

“I only ever wanted what was best for Annabella,” That, Dana thought, was debatable. “I thought some of those drugs would help her, but, I’m not a doctor. I had to go off what Michael told me,”

Dana interrupted, picking up her pen, “Dr Michael Alexander, one of Annabella’s former doctors?”

“Yes. After she stopped seeing him, I still went to him for advice. Annabella liked Michael, she trusted him. He said the medication that they took her off was the only one that worked, he said if I brought it, I could carry on giving it to her.”

Dana wondered for a split second who was in her place in the next room watching the interview, if Jubal was there, if OA was watching after pulling Annabella off the ledge.

“Kate, I think you already know what you did was illegal, you willingly took that money for drug trials that were done outside of the law. All drug trials have to be done through the FDA.” Dana knew her lawyer would have already told her this over the phone, but she wanted Kate to see the seriousness of it all – as if the handcuffs and lawyer weren’t enough.

“I just wanted Anna to be okay. I just wanted her to live a normal life.”

“You gave her medication without a prescription or advice from a doctor.” Dana stated, although firm her voice remained level, shouting wasn’t going to help the situation.

“Because I wanted to help her. I gave her the choice about the tablets, she was upset that she was still taking pills and I thought if I forced her then she would start rebelling, or would overdose, or something. I know that maybe I shouldn’t have been medicating her without the say so of a doctor, but I trusted Michael and I spoke to him every other week about the medication Anna was on,” Kate paused, looking at Dana, tears now running down her cheeks as the emotion got to much.

“I was trying to do what was right.”

Dana paused for a moment, looking down at her notepad.

“Kate,” She paused, “Kate, from where I am sitting, this is what happened,” Dana waited for a few seconds before she went through her own version of event, or what she assumed they would be.

“After your parents died, you took control of all Annabella’s care, from doctors’ appointments, to benefits, to careers, to live in facilities. All of that suddenly fell to you, and for years you did well, you coped. Then, something happened and you’re at a loss. Someone leaves, medication is discontinued, she is discharged from a care home, and so in a moment of panic you go to your old university friend Michael Alexander,” Dana pulled out an old university picture from the file she’d brought in with her.

“The care plan my parents put in place ran out,” Kate whispered.

“I assume things with Dr Alexander went well for a while, and then one day you noticed something different – we both know you’re a smart woman, and that you care for your sister. So, I think when the medication didn’t add up, and the side affects suddenly began you started asking questions and one way or another you stumbled across Dr Alexander’s drug trials.” Dana stopped there.

Kate wasn’t shaking her head like Dana had expected but nodding along to what Dana had to say – and what Dana assumed the DA would say in court when talking to a jury.

“He said Anna would be fine and that I could make some money – money to put her into a care facility long term, private, the best – that’s all I wanted. Dana, you have to believe me, I did this all for Annabella!” Kate was almost pleading for Dana to believe her, and for that moment, Dana couldn’t stand up and say she didn’t.

“Whose idea was it to state that Annabella was incompetent to make her own medical decisions?”

“Mine.” Kate admitted.

“Did you know that Dr Alexander wasn’t informing the FDA about the drug trials?”

Dana half expected the lawyer to answer, but he remained quiet.

“I suspected, but I didn’t ask questions.”

“Tell me about when Annabella found out about all of this,” Dana said, “because that’s what started all of this, Kate.”

Jubal stood in the room next door, eyes trained on the screen as he listened to the back and forth between Dana and Kate. He almost felt numb to it all – he’d long passed the point of being able to compartmentalise, the ability to switch from professionally to personal within moments.

Aside from feeling numb the one emotion he did feel was anger. Did she think about anyone else? When it came to the money, the law, the fact that somewhere deep down, Kate knew what she was doing, did she even think about their children? He tried hard to not let it show as he listened to Kate as she answered Dana’s questions.

“She began asking questions a few months ago. If Michael and I spoke about her, and things like if she could one day just take one lot of tables instead of the hundreds, she felt like she was taking.”

Kate took a breath before carrying on. “She went about a week without them, I was on holiday with Steven and it completely slipped my mind to get a new packet out for her. When she didn’t have any side effects, or mood swings, I assumed that maybe she hadn’t been taking them.”

“You knew the side effects could be pretty severe?”

Kate nodded, “It crossed my mind that she stopped taking them when that other doctor took her off them, and the outbursts and questions were just an act but I didn’t think too much into it – I guess out of sight, out of mind really does work, she was in a care facility most of the time, they gave her meds, I just,” Kate hesitated.

“She was there problem?” Dana suggested the end of the sentence, watching as Kate’s face fell.

“The day before your attack she asked me why I took her to see Michael. She asked me why I took her when the original tablets she was taking were fine. She hadn’t had a psychotic episode in almost two years before seeing him, her anxiety was manageable, she wasn’t having as many mood swings, she could control her emotions, her personality was pretty consistent – she said that I was making her ill, making her mad.”

Dana didn’t really want to ask, but she knew deep down that she needed to – mainly for the investigation, but also for Jubal. His question of whether Kate went through all this to get rid of Annabella was weighing on her mind.

“Kate was that your intention? Did you take your sister to see another psychiatrist, take away her right to make her own medical decisions and make her partake in illegal drug trial to make her unwell?”

Dana could see the tears pooling again in Kate’s eyes, as the shared glanced at her lawyer who only gave a short nod.

“Yes.” Kate’s voice was barely audible, but Dana didn’t have it in her to ask the woman again.

“Did you force Annabella to take the medication you brought on the say so of Dr Alexander at any point in the last seventy-two hours?”

“Yes.”

That was all Dana needed to prove, or at least for the DA to try and prove that Annabella wasn’t herself when she was smashed Dana’s head against the pavement, almost killed Laura Keen, broke Imogen Donaldson’s skull and shot Chloe Maxwell.

“Kate, I have to tell you that we have also arrested Dr Michael Alexander and Annabella Ward, all three of you will be charged with the assault of an FBI agent, the attempted murder of two individuals, the murder of a woman, and for yourself and Dr Alexander, for partaking in an illegal drugs trial – your lawyer will explain these charges to you and I am sure will be seeking to speak to the District Attorney.”

“But,” Kate spoke before Dana could get up. “But they won’t send Anna to prison, right? They’d put her in a facility, in a psych hospital, right?”

Dana frowned a little, “I’m not sure.” She was pretty sure, but she didn’t know if Kate should know that.

For the first time since figuring out Kate was at the centre of all this, she had a scary, yet understandable thought – maybe Kate couldn’t help it, however, that was a question for another day.

“But my sister is ill. She’s not well, she needs help.”

“Kate,” the lawyer finally stepped in. “We can discuss that all later,”

Dana nodded in agreement with him, before she took her notepad, file and pen, and headed towards the door, she glanced back at the woman, wondering where it all went horribly wrong, but also wondering what would happen now. It brought home, in that small moment, that crimes like this rarely ended with an arrest or a trial – for some people it would go on for a lifetime.

\----------

“What happens now?” It was OA’s voice Dana heard when she stepped into the hallway.

“We hand over to the DA, and Henry, and we see where it goes. Charges will be filed by the end of the day, the DA has a list, which ones he’ll get I don’t know.” Dana shrugged, spotting the rest of the team, Jubal included stood behind him.

“What do they call that?” Kristen spoke up, and Dana was slightly surprised she was there. “What Kate’s doing, this whole thing about her sister being ill.”

Dana shrugged again, “It could be as simple as shock, or it could be something as complex as Munchausen’s by Proxy, she may have tried to make Annabella ill to receive support or attention. I think it’s unlikely right now, because the symptoms don’t seem to be there, but she’ll be checked over,” Dana paused for a moment, “How’s Annabella?”

OA nodded, “They want us to wait until tomorrow to interview her. Dr Alexander is talking though, he advised Kate to give Anna the medication, and he’s opening up about the trial’s as well, I think he’s leading up to asking for a plea deal.”

Dana took a breath. “You all did really well today, but OA,” She paused looked at the young agent, “do something like that again, and I promise you the only time you see the outside of this building for the a year is when you’re arriving at the office, and leaving the office, understood?”

OA nodded, “Yes, ma’am.”

“Let’s keep an eye on Annabella Ward, make sure Henry has all he needs, paperwork and the likes, and then, tonight, we all get to go home and finally get some rest.” Jubal said, glancing over at Dana who seemed to be avoiding his eye.

“You did well in there,” Jubal said as he and Dana began to walk to her office. “God only knows what she was really thinking, I think somewhere she really did believe she was doing the right thing, but, either way it would be stupid to think she’s going to get off lightly.”

Dana reached for his hand. “Whatever happens, though, we will figure it out together.”

Jubal nodded, they would have to – they’d been given no real choice, and he had no doubt that when they went home it would finally hit them both. How close he came to losing Dana, how their lives would change if Kate went to prison. Things would be so different for both of them, and Jubal was sure at some point they would both break down – over trust and betrayal, anger and hurt, and a million other emotions that would all come from a case that was far too personal for either of them to really comprehend.

“The good thing is you’re alive.” Jubal said honestly.

“Jubal,”

“I know this whole thing with Kate is going to take a while, and I know it’s going to throw the boys into this horrible situation that they’re going to have to figure out, but right now, the only thing I can focus on is how thankful I am that you are still here, because one of those charges could have easily of been the murder of an FBI agent,”

“But it’s not,” Dana said quickly. “It’s not, and I know this is going to take a long time to figure out, but I am still here, and just like I said, we are going to get through this, me, you, Eleanor, Isaac and Leo, together.”

Jubal nodded - it was the one positive thing he had to hold onto – he had Dana and the three kids.

**\----------**

OA saw Maggie fall into step with him out the corner of his eye. He wanted to stop, move to the side, somewhere private maybe and let her get it out of her system, but the other part of him didn’t. He didn’t want to see how scared she was, or how angry and upset she was that he’d done something stupid.

“Maggie,” OA began, still they were walking, “I made a call to save a life, and I am sorry if I scared you,”

Maggie shook her head, “You could have died today.”

“I could die any day. From this job, from chocking, from falling down the stairs, Maggie,” He hesitated, looking at her, seeing the tears forming in her eyes. “I know that I scared you and I know you’re angry about it, but I would never intentionally put myself in harms way, I really did believe I could get Annabella off that ledge.”

Maggie shook her head, “I know that. I know that I could lose anyone at any time, but, with that, on that ledge, had you have died, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself because I should have stopped you or helped you,”

OA interrupted her by taking a step closer, “I’m okay, Maggie, and so are you. We did what we had to do as agents, you stayed behind to get the information we needed, and I saved a woman’s life.”

Maggie both loved and hated how well he could rationalise. Hated it because she ended up feeling stupid and weak, and then loved it because underneath those emotions she began to feel calm and secure.

“Just,” Maggie shrugged, “try not to do it again.”

OA chuckled. “I will try, but I make no promises.”

“Do you need some kind of incentive?” Maggie asked taking a few steps past OA, looking over her shoulder, waiting for him to answer her question.

OA began to follow her, they did have work to do, “What kind of incentive are we talking about?”

Maggie gave a smile, “Well, every time you do something reckless, I will add one of my reports to your pile to complete and then say every ten reckless acts, I may just mention it to Dana?”

OA shook his head but pretended to think – he knew she was joking, even if her face was deadly serious.

“I think that could be enough motivation.”

Maggie smiled and nodded, that was all she needed to hear. She’d lost too many people, her family lived in a different state, after Jason’s death the team became family to her – OA became someone she trusted, someone she knew she could go to, someone who was there for her. OA was her partner and safe place; she didn’t want to lose him because he decided to play the hero.

“We good, Mags?” OA asked quickly before they got back to work.

Maggie let out a breath, nodding. “As long as you’re still alive, we’ll always be good.”

\----------

** Two weeks later. **

Dana watched closely as Isaac and Leo wondered around her home – or, what she hoped they would eventually call their home.

She tried not to be too overbearing, she took the silent treatment Leo gave her and made a choice to simply apologise when Isaac accused her of sending their mum to prison. She knew in time it would all stop, and they’d fall into some kind of routine, she just wished it would come sooner rather than later.

Much to Jubal’s concern Dana decided not to take a week off, although she did spend most of her time in her office catching up on paperwork. She needed to be at work, she needed to carry on, and set some kind of routine, if not for her, for the children.

It had taken Eleonor all of a day to forgive her mum, and while the boys where still struggling with everything they did give her a hug every night before bed, which she saw as progress.

“Isaac was on about painting his room, so, I told him to use the iPad, look at what he wants.” Jubal said, walked into the kitchen, pulling Dana from her thoughts.

“Might make this place feel more like home, you know, give him some kind of control.”

Jubal took a seat at the kitchen table next to his girlfriend. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

Dana chuckled and shook her head, “I would if I knew.”

“It’s not too late to take some time off, it’s only been two weeks since we made the arrests. I’m sure no one would blame you.”

Dana smiled; she had no doubt. She was sure everyone would be fine, she just wondered if she’d be fine. Spending her time at home, on her own. She’d always hated it, even as a child she craved to constantly be doing something, from sports clubs to art clubs to musical theatre groups, and even now forty years later she still hadn’t outgrown her need to be busy, even after a head injury.

“I want to see where it happened. I want to see where I was attacked, and I want to see when Laura Keen was attacked and where Imogen Donaldson died.”

Jubal was taken back by the request. “Dana,” he paused a moment to think of what to say. “do you really think it would help? I know you keep downplaying what happened, but it’s still a lot to process, even for someone who’s been doing this job for years.”

Dana shrugged, “I keep wondering why I was so lucky, and I can’t help but feel guilty. I thought maybe if I could see where it happened to them, I could rationalise, I could move on.”

Jubal reached across to take her hand; he didn’t know what to say. He would support her no matter what, but he felt useless in the moment not being able to suggest anything else, not being able to tell her that luck had nothing to do with it, that she was a fighter and that she had no reason to feel guilty.

“If that’s what you want to do.”

Dana smiled a little, “I keep thinking about all the cases I’ve worked, all the secrets I’ve had to share, the accusations, the arrests, the searches, god, I’ve spent the best part of thirty years turning everyone else’s life upside down,” she paused, taking a breath, rolling her eyes back in an attempt to stop the tears, “maybe I did ruin people’s lives?”

“No. Dana, you did your job and you did it well,” Jubal began, feeling as though his heart was about to break in his chest. “Look at me,” He waited for her to turn her head. “None of this is your fault. You did nothing wrong.”

“Then why does it feel like it?”

Jubal didn’t have an answer, he felt bad for shaking his head. “Getting through all of this is going to take some time, but I promise we will get through it together.”

“As a family.” Both of them turned their head, not realising someone else had joined them.

Isaac stood with a small smile on his face. “I was talking to Leo and Eleanor and we decided that since we’re all going to be living here that we should start calling each other family.”

Eleanor and Leo came into view behind Isaac.

“It’s all going to take some time for all of us to get used to it, and maybe even longer for mum to feel better, but we’ll do it together.” Eleanor explained.

“What she said,” Leo put in quickly, making Dana and Jubal laugh. “I’m sorry I was so mean to you, Dana.”

Dana sighed with a smile. “It’s okay, you’ve had a lot to deal with, it’s been hard for you boys too.”

“Family hug?” Isaac suggested.

“Family hug!” Jubal said, nodding in agreement, getting up from his chair, helping Dana stand too before all five to them joined in a hug that they all really needed.

They stayed like that for a few moments, Jubal couldn’t really believe that they’d reached this point. His ex-wife was going to spend a few years prison, his lover had been attacked, his family had been turned upside down, but in that moment, he knew it would all be okay, eventually.

“After this we should make cookies.” Leo said quietly.

Dana couldn’t help but laugh at him, his tiny voice breaking up the peaceful moment. The hug broke, and all five of them stood close together, and Dana knew that even though today would maybe be a bad day, things would get better and easier.

“We should totally make cookies.” Eleanor agreed.

“I’ll write the list, you two,” Isaac said, turning to his dad and Dana, “can take us to the store.”

“Oh! We should also make banana bread!”

Dana turned to Jubal. “Can you bake?”

“Not at all, can you?”

Dana chuckled, “I mean, cornflake cakes, yes, but anything else, definitely not.”

The pair took a step back, watching the three children discuss baking, ingredients, and methods. While they stood in silence, Jubal reached out to take Dana’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“We’re gonna be okay.”

Dana smiled, “You think so?”

“If you can get through a baking session with three kids and not get sick or destroy the kitchen then I am pretty sure you can do anything.” Jubal laughed.

Dana smiled, letting her mind wonder for a moment, _‘you ruined her life, you know that?’_ those words would stick with her forever – and she knew they would always sting, but if that was true, if Dana really did ruin Kate’s life, she was going to spend the rest of her own making sure her children didn’t feel that way.

“We have a list!” Leo shouted, pulling Dana out of her thoughts.

Looking between Jubal and the three kids, for the first time since her attack, for just a small moment she felt relief and not guilt. Had she of not survived, had it of been worse, she wouldn’t be stood where she was now, surrounded by the four most important people in her life – and if she couldn’t believe in that, then she wasn’t going to believe in anything.

“Right, let’s get shoes and coats, and go.” Dana said with a smile.

Before Jubal could walk away thought, she caught his arm. “I forgot, and keep forgetting to say it, but thank you.”

Jubal frowned, “What for?”

Dana felt tears pool in the corner of her eyes, as she tried to think of how to explain it. “For everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to know what you thought of this, and if you would like to see more of my writing :)

**Author's Note:**

> For this one, I don't have much pre-written, because I really didn't know if people would like this - so if you want to see more please let me know. All and any comments are very much appreciated. 
> 
> I hope, again, this wasn't the worst thing ever. If it is, then, I'll probably just delete it and we can all pretend this never happened!


End file.
